An implant denture is an overdenture which is attached to implants. These dentures are used when a patient doesn’t have any teeth in his or her jaw but has sufficient bone in the area for supporting implants. Special attachments are made to an implant-supported denture which is snapped against the implant’s attachments.
When should you opt for implant dentures?
Dental implants are best suited for people who have lost one or more teeth and want to restore their appearance and regain the ability to chew. Since it is essential that a patient’s bone tissue is fully developed, implant dentures are not used for people who are younger than 18. To be considered fit to undergo treatment, your mouth needs to be in a good condition. It should have no gum disease or untreated tooth decay. In case implants are fitted due to the presence of gum disease, there is a risk that infection will develop around the implant, causing its failure and loss.
The dentist whom you consult needs to be confident that your oral hygiene is satisfactory before starting treatment since the success of implants is dependent on good plaque control. Once treatment is complete, you need to have follow-up appointments with your dentists from time to time with your dentist so that the latter can evaluate the implants and adopt measures to check complications at the initial stage.
If you satisfy all criteria for implant dentures which are mentioned above, the dentist will discuss different options available, taking into consideration your health, quantity, and quality of your bone tissue and number and position of missing teeth.
What type of treatments do we offer?
At Rapha Dental Centre, we offer two major types of treatments for implant denture. They are discussed below-
Ball-retained dentures- During treatment, each implant on your jawbone will hold a metal attachment which will be fitted to another attachment on the denture. Usually, the attachments on implants are ball-shaped and are fitted within the denture’ s sockets.
Bar-retained dentures- A thin metal bar which follows your jaw’s curve will be attached to 2-5 implants which will be placed on your jawbone. During treatment, we will attach clips or other attachments to the bar, denture or both. The denture will be fitted over the bar and safely clipped by the attachments.