Food is a lot more than just sustenance for our bodies. It’s also a form of connection that we share with those we love! Family dinners and neighborhood barbecues use food to bring people together, but what happens when you can’t enjoy all the foods you love at community gatherings? For people with loose dentures, barbecues and potlucks can become more of a challenge than a privilege. Between constantly struggling to keep their dentures in place and their inability to chew, it’s no wonder that patients with loose dentures often miss the connections that food brings. Fortunately, with denture stabilization, we secure dentures to provide a more stable smile and bite! Using dental implants, we anchor denture restorations to your jaw to allow you to eat and chew confidently.
What Causes Loose Dentures?
Traditional denture prosthetics rely on your jaw for support. While your lower denture simply rests against your lower jawbone, upper dentures use saliva to suction to your upper jaw, covering the roof of your mouth.
However, you may find that your dentures loosen over time. Most patients with loose or floating dentures struggle to chew certain foods. This isn’t due to a change in their denture, but rather a change in jaw structure.
Natural teeth have roots that embed in your jaw, stimulating it whenever you bite or chew. But without teeth, you miss out on stimulation, which results in your jawbone gradually shrinking over time. As your jaw loses mass and volume, your dentures retain their original shape, creating an ill-fitting prosthetic.
The only way to stop bone loss is to replace missing tooth roots, not just missing teeth. While dentures only replace the surface of your smile, dental implants replace your missing tooth roots, stimulating your jaw to create a more stable smile.
Denture Stabilization: Introducing Dental Implants
Dental implants are titanium screws that we secure in your jawbone to take the place of missing tooth roots. Thanks to their biocompatible titanium design, these implants integrate with your jawbone to create a strong connection. Then, using that connection, we secure implants in your jaw, strategically placing them in areas with enough bone for support.
Unfortunately, many patients who’ve experienced bone loss don’t have enough bone to secure a dental implant.
But at Sonora Dentist, we offer a much smaller alternative that fits in minimal bone! Mini dental implants are smaller titanium posts that often allow patients to skip preparatory procedures. Rather than rebuilding lost jaw structure, we simply place your implant in minimal bone using a minimally invasive procedure.
With their simple design and gentle procedure, mini implants offer benefits such as faster healing, quicker results, and a lower cost. In many cases, patients prefer to use mini implants over their more conventional counterparts.
The Denture Stabilization Process
The denture stabilization process is simple, especially when we can transform your current denture into an implant denture.
Free Consultation
We begin the process with a free implant consultation. There, we will discuss your needs, assess your smile, and go over any financing questions you have. Once we determine you have enough bone for mini implant treatment, we will then design your custom treatment plan.
Depending on your needs, you may want a snap-on removable denture, a semi-removable roundhouse bridge, or a non-removable roundhouse bridge. However, if we can use your current denture as the base for your implant prosthetic, many patients prefer this approach.
It’s important to note that not all traditional dentures are able to be transformed into implant dentures. In some cases, these prosthetics are too old, worn, or thin to be used as your implant denture base. In that case, we’ll need to craft a new denture.
Placement Appointment
Placing mini implants is simple and minimally invasive thanks to their sleek design. To fit the implants in your jaw, we simply make a small pilot hole through your gum tissue and into your bone. Then, we gently screw the implant in place, where it immediately begins securing.
Then, if we’re using your original denture, we will modify it. By creating housing in the base with rubber O-rings inside, we can then secure your prosthetic onto your implants. Additionally, implant dentures don’t require the bulky upper denture plate that covers the roof of your mouth. We will remove the plate to free your upper palate and create a more comfortable denture fit.
During that same appointment, we will secure your denture in place so you can enjoy a stable bite that is built to last. With implant dentures, you can eat the foods you love without hesitation.
Secure Your Bite in Sonora, CA
Food is an important way we connect with others. If you find yourself struggling to chew with loose dentures, it may be time to secure your bite! With denture stabilization using mini implants, you can enjoy a more stable smile. Book a free implant consultation at Sonora Dentist today to learn how mini implants transform your smile.
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