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Though traditional dentures restore life-changing aesthetics to your smile, patients are often uncomfortable with the way they shift and move in their mouth. Implant dentures and partials allow patients to replace missing teeth with a long-lasting, stable prosthesis that won’t shift. Dr. Griffin is an expert prosthodontist in Shorewood, and she’ll work tirelessly to give you a comfortable, confident implant denture that looks and feels completely natural.
Many patients choose implant dentures due to their affordability, longevity, and ease of use. Since implant dentures are stabilized, this means that they won’t shift in your mouth or fall out, and for the most part you can eat whatever you want while you wear them. With implant dentures, you can chew steak, enjoy corn on the cob, and chomp on an apple without worrying about your prosthesis slipping or falling out.
At Lake Bluff Dental, we offer both partial and full implant dentures to meet the needs of patients with missing teeth. If you are missing one or multiple teeth, partial implant dentures offer a secure, stable solution. For patients with full arches of missing teeth, or those who are missing most of their teeth, full implant dentures can restore the function and aesthetics of your smile. Full implant dentures are designed to replace the upper, lower, or both arches of your teeth. In order to have full implant dentures placed, any remaining teeth must be extracted. For this reason, we only recommend full implant dentures for patients missing a large number of their teeth.
After you are approved for implant surgery, you will come in for your implant placement appointment. During this treatment, Dr. Griffin will numb your mouth and use sedation dentistry to keep you calm and comfortable. Once your mouth is numbed and the sedative has taken effect, incisions will be made in your gum line and small, titanium posts will be inserted into your jaw. Once the sites of these implants heal, the posts will act as artificial tooth roots.
During your restoration procedure, Dr. Griffin will permanently attach your implant-supported denture. These dentures are removable and snap into place to give your smile a full, aesthetically-pleasing look.
Compared to traditional dentures, implant-supported dentures have a wide variety of benefits. First, they will never move, shift, or loosen from your mouth. Traditional dentures are held in place by friction, and along with dental adhesive, they can provide a very tight hold. However, they still may slip occasionally.
This is not the case with implant-supported dentures. Your dentures will be securely anchored to a series of 4-6 dental implants, which are permanently bonded with your natural jaw tissue. Whether you choose permanent bridges or removable implant-supported dentures, you will never have to worry about your implant-supported dentures moving when you eat, speak, smile, or laugh.
Another benefit of implant-supported dentures is that they actually support and strengthen your jawbone, unlike traditional dentures.
When you lose one or more teeth, the pressure of chewing and biting is no longer transmitted through your tooth and into your jaw bone. Over time, this results in “bone resorption,” which is the gradual weakening and loss of jaw bone tissue below the missing tooth.
If you are missing all of your natural teeth and you wear traditional dentures, you may continue to lose bone structure from your jaw over the years. Eventually, this can affect your appearance.
But this does not happen with implant-supported dentures. Your implants are placed directly into your jaw bone, so as you chew and bite, they stimulate and support the health of the bone structure. This prevents bone resorption, and preserves your appearance and your oral health.
Before you can have implant-supported dentures, you’ll need to schedule an initial consultation with Dr. Carolyn Griffin. She will examine your mouth and determine if you’re a good candidate for treatment.
If you’re approved, you may also need additional treatments before you can have implant-supported dentures placed. This may include teeth extractions, alveoloplasty (smoothing of the jaw bone), or bone grafting to strengthen your jaw before treatment.
The implant-supported dentures process will begin with the placement of your dental implants. Dr. Griffin will clean and numb your mouth, then create an opening in the gum and jaw tissue based on your surgical plan. Next, a dental implant will be placed in this area and screwed into the bone tissue. Then, the area will be cleaned and sanitized, and sutured to ensure proper healing. This process will be done 4-6 times for both the upper and lower arch of the teeth.
Once your implants are in place, you’ll get a set of temporary dentures to wear over your implants as they heal, and recovery instructions. Initial healing takes a few weeks, but it will take 3-6 months for your implants to permanently bond with your teeth.
You will come in for several appointments with Dr. Griffin during this time, and she will take impressions and images of your mouth and work with a dental lab to begin creating your set of permanent dentures.
Once your mouth has healed completely and your final set of dentures is ready, you’ll come into our office for a final appointment, and Dr. Griffin will attach your set of permanent teeth. Then, you’ll go home with a brand new smile!
Using a two-part treatment, implant dentures replace missing teeth with dental implants (artificial roots) and a restoration (dental prosthesis). The same basic procedure is used for both partial and full implant dentures. This revolutionary treatment helps patients avoid common issues related to tooth loss, such as teeth shifting and bone resorption. While the term “dental implant” is often used to refer to a single-tooth implant restoration, it actually refers to the small, screw or rod-shaped piece of titanium that is used as an artificial root to hold your dentures securely in place.
The cost of your implant dentures depend on many different factors, including:
To get an accurate estimate for your implant denture treatment, schedule a consultation with Dr. Griffin. During your appointment, she will discuss you needs, preferences, and budget.
Just like natural teeth, your implant-supported dentures must be cleaned carefully every day and you should brush your gums and around your implants twice a day. Because your denture plate is attached to implants placed in your jawbone, you must remove all detachable appliances and clean around attachments, artificial teeth, and gum areas.
While dental implant surgery is an invasive procedure, we do everything we can to make your implant experience as painless as possible. We use powerful numbing agents and we offer sedation dentistry to keep you calm and comfortable every step of the way. When you leave your appointment, Dr. Griffin will send you home with a prescription for painkillers, if necessary, and ensure that you have all of the information and instruction you need during the healing process.
Since dental implants fuse with your natural gum tissue and jaw bone, you will need to have a healthy mouth in order to be a good candidate for surgery. Adequate, healthy jaw and gum tissue are necessary to support a dental implant. During your consultation, Dr. Griffin will thoroughly examine your teeth and gums to make sure that dental implants are right for you.