Important Facts to Help Make Your Decision
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 resulting bone loss. It is possible to watch and wait for bone to disappear
to the point where treatment success of any kind is doubtful.
• 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 to 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. With our multi-specialty practice,
implant placements can be conducted in our office. If you have questions or want to know if you
are a good candidate for implant tooth replacement therapy, please call our
office in Sandy Springs.
Novy Scheinfeld, DDS, PC
290 Carpenter Drive, 200A
Atlanta (Sandy Springs),
GA 30328
404-256-3620
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