Toothless in Burton?
What are your options when you lose all of your teeth?
Hopefully, very few of us will arrive at the stage where we have no teeth left. With good care, and a bit of luck, it is entirely possible not to lose a single adult tooth. Where we do, it is generally just the odd tooth that is lost, at least until we arrive at a very old age.
This isn’t the case for everyone though and full mouth tooth loss can have a major impact on your life. Long term neglect of your teeth and gums or even a serious accident can result in you needing to consider what options are available to you.
Impossible procedure
First of all, in cases like this, we have to rule out the use of a regular dental bridge. These can only be used where there are adjacent teeth available to attach the crowns which hold the bridge in place. A full bridge of teeth can be used in another procedure however, and we will come to that shortly.
Dentures
Perhaps the best known tooth replacement method in this situation is a full set of dentures. These offer a reasonably realistic looking set of replacement teeth but they are not without their compromises however. Because they are only secured through the use of suction and possibly some denture adhesive, there is always a chance that they will become loose. This can be very embarrassing when you are speaking to someone, or when attempting to eat, especially when dining out.
Dentures may also limit what you feel comfortable eating, with many denture wearers avoid eating harder or very sticky foods, opting instead for a largely soft food diet.
Dental implants
At Mike Allen’s Dental Practice, we usually recommend that our patients at least consider the option of dental implants. This is not the cheapest of tooth replacement methods but offers the most realistic, most secure and long lasting option. The dental plans that we offer at our Burton practice can help you to spread the cost over a period of time, making the financial side of this more manageable.
Of course, to replace each missing tooth with an individual implant would be both very time consuming and very expensive. Instead, a procedure, known as ‘all on 4’ (or sometimes six), or ‘teeth in a day’, can be used. This uses four (or six) strategically placed dental implants which can be used to attach a fixed bridge into place. Unlike individual implants, the replacement teeth can be used quite quickly after the implants have been placed. For the sake of comfort though, it is better to eat soft foods initially until you become accustomed.
This procedure can also be used to stabilise dentures if you prefer to continue wearing them. Both of these procedures will provide you with the strength and stability that dentures alone are unable to provide.
Once placed, dental implants are straightforward to look after and we will advise you of how to do this during your consultation at our Burton practice. If you would like more information or would like to see if you are a suitable candidate for implants, please call Mike Allen’s Practice on 01283 845345.