Dental implant supported dentures are a set of dentures designed to be anchored by dental implants. Unlike Zirconia bridges or All on 4, implant dentures are removable. They snap on and off of the implants so that they can be properly cleaned in solution overnight. For this reason, people sometimes call them “snap in dentures”.
Implant dentures can be a great choice for patients who want a more affordable full mouth or full arch option than All on 4 or Zirconia. On average in Texas, implant supported dentures are approximately $8,000-16,000 less per arch respectively than these choices. They are also much more natural and comfortable than traditional dentures, requiring no adhesives to stay put while you chew.
It’s very important for a dental implant supported denture to be removable.
Dentures are made from acrylic, which is essentially a high-density plastic compound. This material is considerably more absorbent than zirconia. Moisture and bacteria can accumulate on its surface if it’s not regularly soaked in solution, particularly underneath the flaps between the prosthetic and the gums. Therefore, in order to be properly cleaned, implant supported dentures need to be removed.
Implant supported dentures can last a very long time when properly maintained. In our office in Fort Worth, TX, we’ve seen patients use the same prosthetic without major repairs for 10 years or more. The dental implants themselves usually lost even longer! If your dental implant dentures need repair, our office also offer complementary repairs for up to 1 year after your final set is delivered and lifetime discounted repair rates.
Please note that the longevity of implant supported dentures will vary depending on how well each patient maintains them. Proper hygienic care is crucial, as is avoiding bad habits that are destructive to natural teeth, such as chewing hard candy and ice.
While snap in dentures won’t feel like natural teeth, they can be designed to be much more comfortable than traditional dentures. Unlike traditional dentures, implant supported dentures require no adhesives. Because they are anchored by dental implants, they have a much firmer fit and are more reliable for chewing hard foods.
Our office also designs your implant denture with 30-45% less plastic on the overhanging ridges than traditional models. This means that the soft tissue will have that much reduced contact with your prosthetic, making them more comfortable.
In our dental implant office, our in house lab designs all of our implant supported dentures with 20-30% more density than traditional models. Doing so increases the longevity and durability of your prosthetics.
We also give you a minimum of 4-8 dental implants, thus balancing the force distribution of each bite. This also increases your snap in denture’s chances of long-term success.
Many of our patients report being able to eat the same foods that they enjoyed with their natural teeth! Frequently we hear delighted feedback about chewing corn-on-the-cob, steak, apples, and other hard foods with no trouble. Therefore, it’s possible that your prosthetic will allow you to do the same.
Believe it or not, the removability of implant supported dentures gives them distinct advantages over All on 4. While the All on 4 procedure can vary from office to office, the vast majority of prosthetics used for this procedure are made from the exact same material as implant supported dentures: acrylic. However, this makes the prosthetic significantly more difficult (if not impossible) to properly clean.
In addition, All on 4 can be more likely to compromise the integrity of the prosthetic. Acrylic is not as strong as natural teeth or zirconia and is therefore more likely to chip or break. Screwing acrylic onto dental implants makes the prosthetic more prone to cracking or breaking than giving it absorbable o-ball sockets so that it can snap on and off implants.
Lastly, at least at The Dental Implant Place, you can get up to twice as many dental implants with snap in dentures vs All on 4. With the former, we will give you at least 4-8 implants, sometimes more. This will offer more stability to your prosthetic so that the weight distribution is more even when you chew. Even weight distribution balances the force with each bite, making the prosthetic much less likely to break or crack!
The advantage of dental implant dentures over zirconia bridges is that they cost significantly less per arch. However, the tradeoff is that the material (acrylic) is weaker than zirconia. It also feels less natural. In our office, zirconia is permanently cemented on top of a larger number of implants with no overhanging material brushing up against your soft tissue. Zirconia is also cleaned by brushing them the same way you would natural teeth.
Any patients who receive implant supported dentures with our office in Fort Worth, TX can upgrade to zirconia at any point in the future for a discount equal to the original cost of implants we already placed for them! This can save you up to over $10,000 per arch! So if you need to replace all of your teeth today at a reduced rate and upgrade to a more natural set later, you absolutely can!
Are you interested in getting implant dentures or learning more about your options? Schedule a consultation with our office to get your cost, diagnosis, and next steps from a team with over 80 years of combined experience in implant dentistry.
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