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Spanish Imagine that you need surgery and are trying to find the right hospital for the procedure. If one of your choices was only using technology from 50 years ago, would that be the hospital you choose? For most patients, probably not! So, when you’re seeking a solution to replace a missing tooth or teeth, why would you choose a practice that only offers options that have been around for hundreds of years, like full and partial dentures? At Aspire Dental Group in Lake City, FL, we’re proud to offer the modern solution of implant-supported tooth replacement, giving you a more stable, functional, and aesthetically pleasing way to revitalize your smile.
Understanding Partial Dentures and Other Traditional Solutions
When looking to replace a missing tooth or teeth, patients used to be limited to a few different options. File these under the banner of “traditional” tooth replacement options:
- Full dentures: These dentures are what they sound like—a complete set of teeth for those who have lost all their natural teeth. They sit on your gums for support and have a bulky, pink plastic design requiring constant adjustments.
- Partial dentures: These are for patients who have lost only a few teeth and want to fill in the gaps. They connect to existing teeth through brackets and are removable, just like full dentures.
- Dental bridge: A bridge fills an empty space between two healthy teeth with a replacement tooth or teeth. It attaches to those healthy teeth with dental crowns. This requires us to reshape the anchor teeth so the crowns fit properly, which means you’re altering two healthy teeth to replace any missing ones.
The Issue With Traditional Tooth Replacements
While these solutions all replace missing teeth with some functionality and aesthetics, they each come with drawbacks. Full dentures will lose their fit over time and begin to move around in your mouth. This movement makes eating and speaking more difficult and causes sores and frustration. Partial dentures can’t replicate the chewing functionality of your original teeth, potentially limiting your diet. Bridges affect your adjacent healthy teeth and make brushing and flossing more difficult.
However, the biggest drawback of all these replacements is that they don’t replace missing tooth roots. Not filling empty tooth sockets can cause the remaining teeth to shift, bacteria to grow in hard-to-reach places, and your jawbone to deteriorate. These problems will worsen over time unless something can replace the missing roots.
Mini Dental Implants: A Modern Way To Secure Bridges, Full and Partial Dentures
Throughout the 21st century, mini dental implants have been gaining popularity as a tooth replacement solution thanks to their many benefits. However, the main draw of any type of dental implant is that they act as artificial tooth roots. They connect directly to the jawbone, providing a strong anchor point for modern tooth replacement solutions. For example, an implant-supported bridge is more secure and durable and works more like your natural teeth than a traditional bridge or partial denture.
As a Mini Dental Implant Center of America, Aspire Dental Group specializes in using mini implants in our dental solutions. Drs. Robert Harvey and Rameek McNair prefer these smaller implants for their less invasive placement, faster healing, and sleek design. However, just because they’re small doesn’t mean they’re less durable; thanks to their one-piece titanium body, mini implants are just as reliable and long-lasting as their larger predecessors.
Finally, mini implants are much less expensive than traditional implants. Combined with our practice’s affordable financing options, mini implants are a cost-effective way to improve oral health and functionality.
The Advantages of Implant-Supported Options
By choosing an implant-supported tooth replacement over a traditional option, you receive several advantages:
- Increased functionality: Because we place them directly into the jaw, implant-supported bridges provide far more stability for daily activities like eating and speaking.
- Better oral health: Implant bridges are supported from below, so they don’t require us to adjust your surrounding healthy teeth. The implants’ connection to the jawbone also provides the stimulation needed to prevent bone deterioration, solving the biggest problem with traditional options.
- Better aesthetics: Implant-supported options have a more natural look since they eliminate all the “apparatus” of traditional options, such as the pink plastic base of full dentures and the brackets of partial dentures.
Learn More About the Alternatives to Full and Partial Dentures
So, are you ready to renew your smile with stable, reliable, and affordable mini dental implants? Dr. Harvey, Dr. McNair, and the team at Aspire Dental Group invite you to schedule a free consultation. Whether you’re considering an alternative to full or partial dentures or just want to understand more about implant-supported tooth replacement options, we’re here to help. A more functional and reliable smile is just a phone call away!
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