Invest in Your Future with Implant-Supported Dentures
Implant-supported dentures provide better oral health and better self-esteem than traditional dentures.
Human beings should have a total of 32 permanent teeth at adulthood (28 if the wisdom teeth have been extracted). However, a wide variety of factors including poor diet, inadequate oral hygiene, accidents, and unavailability of affordable dental care collaborate to deprive many adults of their natural teeth, sometimes at a surprisingly early age.
According to the latest data from the CDC, only about 67 percent of adults aged 20 to 39 have all their teeth. Adults 40 to 64 are twice as likely to be missing teeth, with only 34 percent of this age group having all their natural teeth.
While a single missing tooth may not seem like a huge problem, the more teeth you lose the more noticeable the problem becomes. By age 65, 19 percent of adults have actually lost all their teeth. By age 75, this increases to 26 percent.
Common Problems Associated with Tooth Loss
When you consider that the average life expectancy for an American is 78.8 years, you can see that losing all or most of your teeth by age 65 is a huge problem. It would leave you exposed to the following common problems associated with tooth loss for over a decade:
- Difficulty chewing, which can affect nutrition
- Trouble speaking clearly
- Loss of bone density in the jaw, contributing to an aged and sunken appearance
- Embarrassment with your appearance
Dentures Don’t Solve All these Problems
Dentures (or partial dentures) will not necessary solve all of the problems presented by missing teeth. For example, they definitely cannot stop bone loss in the jaw. Bone loss changes the shape of the jaw, causing dentures to stop fitting properly every few years and require adjustment or replacement. While dentures can improve your appearance and help restore the ability to chew food properly and speak clearly, this will only happen for individuals who are patient and persistent in learning how to wear and use their new dentures properly.
Dentures can also present a different and new set of problems, such as sores or irritation in the mouth, embarrassing clicking noises, slippage, and the need to use denture adhesives.
Implant-Supported Dentures Offer an Alternative
Because implant supported dentures are anchored in place using titanium dental implant pegs, they eliminate several of the biggest problems with dentures. The pegs help to arrest bone loss in the jaw so that you will require fewer adjustments or refittings. Plus, the pegs provide added strength and stability for the denture so that it will not slip around when you eat or speak.
If you have lost a significant number of teeth at a relatively young age, do not neglect to explore the possibility of getting implant-supported dentures (or partial dentures). This could provide you with better quality of life for many, many years to come. Make an appointment at one of our clinics today to learn more.
