Yes, people can generally get dental implants after dentures. However, it depends on the extent of your condition. Frontier Dental Care provides comfortable, custom-made dentures and dental implants in Strongsville, OH.
What Is a Dental Implant?
A dental implant is a tooth root replacement piece that attaches to a custom-made artificial tooth. A dental implant is typically made from titanium, which is biocompatible, and naturally fuses to the jawbone through a process called osseointegration. Once the gums and jawbone heal and the implant is secure, we can place the final tooth restorations, such as a crown, dental bridge, or denture.
Facial Collapse and Dental Implants
When you lose teeth, the jaw shrinks over time, resulting in facial collapse, thus changing how dentures fit. The body recognizes that there aren’t any tooth roots in the jawbone, and it interprets this as no longer needing the jawbone to retain the roots.
The body wants to be as efficient as possible, so it resorbs minerals from the jawbone to save them for other areas of the body that need them. As a result, the jawbone shrinks; over time, it’ll shrink so much that it can no longer hold your dentures.
Options for Dental Implants After Wearing Dentures
The jawbone retains teeth, which means maintaining implants is also necessary. Without enough bone structure in the jaws, dental implants can fail.
There are a couple of ways to rectify this issue:
All-on-4® Dental Implants
All-on-4® dental implants don’t require much bone structure. We place four dental implants with higher bone density at 45-degree angles in the upper and lower arches. These implants act as a support for artificial teeth.
Bone Grafting
Bone grafting can increase a patient’s eligibility for dental implants. Bone grafting restores the jaw using synthetic or natural bone to rebuild the missing jawbone structure. Once healed, your dentist can place dental implants in the newly formed jawbone.
Jawbone loss can be detrimental to oral health and create a domino effect of issues, including tooth loss and tooth mobility. If you have jawbone deterioration, bone grafting and all-on-4 dental implants can help improve your oral health and overall quality of life.
Contact Us for Dental Implants in Strongsville, OH
With dental implants, you can have the healthy, beautiful smile you love! Call us today to schedule a consultation with Dr. Sanjay Karunagaran.