Why Are Dental Implants Healthier Than Dentures?
Do you have one or more missing teeth?
It has been estimated that sixty-nine percent of Americans age 35-44 have at least one missing tooth, and 1 in 4 adults over the age of 74 have lost all of their teeth.
When most people consider dental implants to replace one or more missing teeth, the concern most often heard is how they will improve your smile’s appearance.
Aesthetic concerns aside, there are many health benefits of dental implants as compared to dentures.
Dental implants are a permanent solution to missing teeth, whereas dentures are removable, but that’s not all.
Let’s examine some of the most important health benefits of dental implants over dentures…
3 Reasons Why Dental Implants Are Healthier Than Dentures
1. Dental Implants Provide Stability
Even if you’re missing just one tooth, the void left in that space not only takes away from your appearance and self-confidence, the space left by your missing tooth also negatively affects your remaining teeth.
This happens because when there is a gap in your teeth – from a missing tooth – your remaining teeth will begin to migrate into that space.
The movement of your existing teeth can destabilize over time, which can negatively affect your bite and potentially lead to malocclusion problems.
Malocclusion is the abnormal alignment of your upper & lower teeth, it can lead to your teeth getting unevenly worn down, TMD issues, and the need for corrective orthodontics or Invisalign.
Dental implants mimic the natural tooth root and prevent your remaining teeth from moving into the empty space left by your missing tooth or teeth.
That health benefit alone is why dental implants are a better choice than dentures, but there are more.
2. Dental Implants Preserve Your Jawbone
When you lose a tooth the healthiest option is to replace it as soon as possible – either with a dental bridge, a denture, or preferably a dental implant.
Appearance is usually the motivating factor to do so, after all, who wants a gap-toothed smile?
But that’s not even the most important reason to consider dental implants over dentures.
Dental implants are the only procedure that will prevent jawbone loss, dentures & removable bridges will not. In fact, dentures actually contribute to bone loss.
When you lose a tooth your jawbone actually begins to erode because there is no tooth root for the jawbone to support.
Dental implants offer another significant health benefit over dentures because any jawbone loss is detrimental to your health.
When you experience bone loss after delaying a missing tooth treatment, this destabilizes your existing teeth.
If you have more than one missing tooth the health risks associated with jawbone loss become even more dramatic.
Bone loss is not healthy, dental implants preserve your jawbone, dentures lead to bone loss.
3. Eat Your Favorite Foods
Do you enjoy eating apples, corn on the cob, or nuts?
People with dentures don’t.
When you’re missing one or more teeth, enjoying the food you love becomes more of a challenge. With dentures, your favorite foods become too difficult to eat & chew thoroughly.
Nobody wants to go on a “soft foods” diet just because their dentures prevent them from getting proper nutrition and eating the foods they love.
Jawbone loss aside, dentures can also represent a detrimental effect on your overall health.
When you don’t feed your body with the proper nutrients your body’s ability to fight off infection and disease becomes compromised.
With dental implants you can eat the foods you love & get proper nutrition.
When your teeth are supported by dental implants, your jawbone remains intact, your remaining teeth remain healthy & in place, and you don’t have to worry about what foods you’re eating.
These are three of the most obvious oral & overall health benefits of dental implants as compared to dentures; permanent smile stability, jawbone retention, & the freedom to eat the foods you love.
In fact, you could even say that dentures are hazardous to your health!
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