Dental Implants

[Norman]

In my 40's my teeth began to break off when I bit into hard foods so I had them removed. The dentist fitted me for dentures. I have worn dentures for approximately thirteen years and I have lost my dentures at least once per year. They are very hard to keep up with. I was wondering if dental implants would be better to have as far as cleaning and keeping up with. Do dental implants have to be removed each night? I don't understand what would support the implants and prevent them from coming out. I would like to know if I'd be able to eat anything that I'd like or still be restricted to only soft foods or foods that won't get stuck in my dental implants. Many people that I've spoken to have had different dental implant procedures performed. How many types of dental implant procedures are available? Additionally, I would like an estimated figure of the the cost of dental implants. Is it covered by regular dental insurance or would I have to purchase additional cosmetic insurance? I also need to know the pros and cons of having dental implants. Any information on dental implants would be very useful. Thanks!

[Dr Vahid Motahar]

Hi,

Thank you for your question.

Dental implants are very effective and useful for people in your position. Dental implants are in several sections. The implant itself is made from titanium and is placed in the bone permanently and are not therefore removable. Then it is the restoration on top of the implants that can be different depending on what is placed on them.

If implants are to support removable dentures, then fixtures are attached to them so allowing a denture to be connected to the implants. You may ask then why to have implants to keep denture and the extra cost if you still have to wear a denture and why not just wear the denture as usual without the implants. The answer would be that the retention of the denture is enormously improved to the extend that there is almost no diet restriction with the dentures and you can eat everything with these dentures and no need to stick to a soft diet.

The alternative to dentures on top of the implants are implant supported bridges. In these cases actual teeth are fitted on top of the implants permanently without the need for removing them. Thus unlike dentures the the teeth are placed on implants and these do not come off. This is even better than implant supported denture option as they even look more natural and effectively mimic the natural teeth. The difference is that implant supported bridges cost more as more implants are needed.

Maintenance of implants is very similar to natural teeth and therefore excellent oral hygiene is needed.
It is not possible to say how much the cost of the treatment will be without clinically assessig the situation but all the prices are well published in our web site.