Many individuals know that a permanent dental implant is an ideal tooth restoration. Some don’t realize, however, that two or more can support a partial or full denture. This can be a less expensive option than having multiple implants while still providing many benefits as compared to conventional dentures.
Today’s article from Cary Family Dental answers the most common questions about implant dentures.
The first thing to know is that a fixed implant denture is called an “implant-supported” denture while a removable one is called an “implant-retained” denture.
What Are Implant Dentures?
Like traditional dentures, implant-supported dentures replace missing teeth. The difference is that they are attached to titanium posts which are surgically implanted into the jawbone.
Each post is called an implant. The implant fuses with the surrounding bone structure to create an incredibly durable restoration. These posts are similar to the implants that hold a crown, except instead of a crown, they have a clip that attaches to the denture, partial denture, or metal bar that holds the denture connectors. Implants can be used for both upper and lower dentures.
Bar-Retained and Ball-Retained Systems
There are two types of implant stabilization methods: bar-retained and ball-retained. For both, the denture is constructed with gum-colored acrylic for the base to which porcelain (or acrylic) false teeth are attached. The denture requires, at a minimum, two implants for stabilization.
With the ball-retained system, each post holds an attachment (male or female) that fits into a corresponding adapter on the denture. These are sometimes called “stud-attachment.”
With bar-retained dentures, a metal bar is anchored to two to five implants. The bar holds the attachments that connect to the denture.
If you are currently wearing conventional dentures, talk to us about superior options.
Contact Cary Family Dental:
919-371-4428
Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):
915 Kildaire Farm Rd
Cary, North Carolina
27511
