1. Dental Implants v Dentures

Complete dentures are the least stable of dental restorations. They get loose easily and they often cause irritation and embarrassment. Dentures also cause further bone loss. There are many dental implant options that should be explored instead of dentures.

Here are some of the Dental Implant options available:

1. Overdentures (Removable Prosthetics retained by attachments or bars)
2. Fixed/Detachable (Restorations screwed into place on the Implants. They can be removed by the dentist but not by the patients)
3. Crown and Bridge Restorations (Very much like the crowns or "caps" that you would put on natural teeth.)
4. Immediate Load Transitional Implants (If you want your teeth right away, this is the way to do it...)
5. Understand Your Choices (This section explains the differences for the above restorations.)
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2. Replacing a single tooth with a dental implant

The value of replacing a single tooth with a dental implant restoration is the conservation of natural tooth structure. You do not have to destroy the enamel of adjacent teeth when you are replacing the missing tooth with a dental implant restoration. On the other hand, three or four unit fixed bridge can be made much faster than a dental implant restoration and it is a more conventional type of restoration.

Single Tooth Restorations (A major challenge in restorative implant dentistry is the replacement of a single missing tooth. Years ago, we didn't have the tools necessary to do this properly, but today, we have the capabilities to do this perfectly...)

3. Using a fixed bridge on dental implants v a removable partial denture

Removable partial dentures can be very damaging to the remaining teeth whereas an implant retained replacement can add back the missing support that will help protect the remaining teeth. Removable partial dentures can be constructed faster and less expensively than implant restorations...

Crown and Bridge Restorations (Very much like the crowns or "caps" that you would put on natural teeth. These restorations differ from the crown & bridge restorations above in that there are natural teeth present in the arch...)