Full Mouth Dental Implants vs. Traditional Dentures: Which is Better?

According to recent surveys around India, about 40% of the Indian population is experiencing tooth loss, either single or multiple. While this likely gets much higher as you age, younger people also experience some form of tooth loss either due to injury or health issues. 

Regardless of your age, we at Smile Craft Dental Clinic understand your need to regain comfort and confidence by exploring the options available to you. In this blog, we’ll talk about the pros and cons of two popular treatment options; Full Mouth Dental Implants vs Traditional dentures. 

Traditional Dentures Pros vs Cons

Traditional dentures are removable dental prosthetics that sit on the gums and give you either a full arch or partial fake teeth. They are generally made of an acrylic base and attached to the gums through suction or adhesives. 

Procedure:

Your dentist will first begin by examining your dental health and taking X-rays and measurements to create your custom dentures. You’ll first receive a trial set, made from initial impressions, to test the fit and make minor adjustments for comfort and alignment. After final adjustments, the final set of dentures is molded to give you the optimum function with a natural-looking appearance. Any further minor adjustments can be made during your follow-up checkups.

Pros of traditional dentures:

• Dentures are generally cheaper and quicker to install than implants, making it a more practical option for those on a budget, or for those looking for a quick, short-term solution to missing teeth.

• Modern dentures are made to replicate the look, feel, and function of natural teeth pretty well. You can even get customized denture options for a full arch of teeth or partial dentures to cover a few missing teeth, meeting your specific needs. 

• It is non-invasive and won’t require any surgery making it a better option for those with low healing capabilities, a high risk of infections during surgery, or surgery-related anxieties. In some cases, your dentist can even recommend for you to opt to get dentures temporarily which you can later switch to implants once you’re healing ability is better.

• Implants require high bone density, which could be an issue for a lot of older patients, therefore requiring bone grafting surgery if necessary to fix this. This would further increase the cost and timeline required to get your teeth fixed, therefore making dentures the quicker and cheaper option.

Cons of traditional dentures:

• Dentures require comparatively more maintenance efforts during cleaning, as compared to implants. You are required to brush them after every meal and soak them overnight (soak them in water or a special solution), in addition to brushing out your gums and getting rid of the adhesives.

• Due to wearing dentures for a prolonged period, one could experience loss of bone density around the area of missing teeth. This could further cause changes in jaw structure over time and require you to get timely adjustments and relining over extended periods. Implants prevent loss of bone density by stimulating the jaw bone.

• Minor instability issues of the dentures are sometimes inevitable, as compared to implants. Since they rest on your gums, they could shift while eating tougher foods or playing sports. This issue could be fixed with dental adhesives to keep them more stable.

• Dentures could cause mouth sores or irritation around the gums, in addition to sometimes feeling bulky and unnatural initially, until you adjust to them. 

Full Mouth Dental Implants pros vs cons

Dental Implants are artificial teeth, surgically attached to your jaw bone to replicate your natural teeth. If you need multiple teeth replacements in your lower or upper arches, then it’s more practical to get full mouth implants instead or multiple individual ones.  During full mouth dental implants, you’d get anywhere from 4-8 implants placed around your mouth strategically. Once healed, this will be supported by an arch of natural-looking prosthetic teeth. 

Procedure:

Similar to the individual implant process, full mouth dental implants begin with a thorough examination of your oral health and dental measurements. Your dentist will then plan where to implant about 4-8 posts within your upper or lower jaw, for the best foundation and stability of the prosthetics. You then wait to have your implants healed and fused with the jaw bone, for a couple of months. After this, your dentist will attach the final set of bridges or dental arches to give you for final stable smile. 

Pros of Full Mouth Dental Implants

• Full mouth dental implants are much more stable and functional as compared to traditional dentures, due to them being anchored and fused into your jaw bone. This prevents them from shifting and allows you to eat much wider variety of foods.

• Since dental implants stimulate bone regeneration, it prevents loss of bone density. 

• Full mouth implants are a long-term solution that could even last you a lifetime with proper care and maintenance. Dentures however have to be re-lined or changed every 5-15 years due to the face structure changing over time. 

• Implants are made to mimic the natural look and feel of your teeth more closely and are therefore preferable for comfort and aesthetics, as compared to traditional dentures.

• Implants are much easier to clean, requiring you to maintain only basic oral hygiene standards of brushing, flossing, and mouthwash. As compared to traditional dentures, that would require you to be much more diligent.

Cons of Full Mouth Dental Implants

• Dental Implant cost is comparatively more expensive than traditional braces and in some cases would require additional steps like bone grafting surgery, requiring more money.

• It is more time-consuming to get implants installed and healed (averaging between 3-6 months) but could be longer varying from person to person. 

• Although chances of complications are generally low, people with lower healing capabilities or those prone to infections should be more careful during these procedures. Patients with extreme health issues would therefore be advised to treat their prior health conditions before opting for this procedure.

At Smile Craft Dental Clinic we help our patients thoroughly consider the pros and cons of all their options to help you make the best decision. Head over to our clinic if you need top rated dental implants in Panjim or Margao, or visit our website to know about our other services!