Many
people are unaware of the consequences of losing their teeth or the effects of
wearing partial or full dentures upon their jaws and bones. When teeth are
lost, the surrounding bone immediately begins to shrink [atrophy]. Implant treatment, for
tooth replacement therapy, can be the optimal treatment plan. Here are some
important facts to take into consideration.
• Wearing
dentures [plates] accelerates bone loss, and old dentures become loose because
of this bone loss. It is possible to watch and wait for bone to disappear to
the point where treatment success of any kind is in doubt.
• At
the end of a five-year period, only 40% are still wearing the original partial
denture made for them. This is not a great testimonial for value and utility.
Those lucky enough to have a functioning partial denture after 5 years are
still losing valuable supporting bone.
• Of
those patients who wear a partial denture, 50% chew better without it.
• One
study showed that after 8 years, 40% of the supporting teeth [abutments] that
the partial hooks onto were lost through tooth decay or fracture.
• Patients
with natural teeth can bite with about 200 pounds of force. Denture wearers can
bite with approximately 50 pounds of force. Those wearing dentures for 15 years
or more can bite with only about 6 pounds of force, and their diet and eating
habits have had to been modified accordingly.
• The
average lower full denture shifts from side to side during chewing and is a
significant problem that new denture wearers must get use to and accept.
• Denture
wearers have decreased nutritional intake, a ten year shorter life span, and
30% of denture wearers can only eat soft foods.
• The
single tooth implant
success rate is above 98%, and unlike a bridge, the teeth adjacent to the
implant are no more at risk than if no teeth were missing.
• Implant-supported
bridges or dentures have 95% success rates over 10 years without the severe
loss of supporting bone.
For
bone maintenance, the health of adjacent teeth, the longevity of the
restoration and patient comfort, implant therapy is the treatment of choice.
Implants can restore chewing function to the equivalent of someone with natural
teeth. If you have questions or want to know if you are a good candidate for
implant tooth replacement therapy, please call our office.
Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC
5471 Bells Ferry Road, Suite 200
Acworth, GA 30102
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