Should You Choose Dentures or Implants?

If you are dealing with tooth loss, your dental professional may have recommended either dentures or a dental implant to you. Both are viable options to help you overcome the loss of a tooth, and your dentist may have recommended one option over the other. However, this is an important decision, and you may want to know more about the options before deciding how to proceed. There are some key benefits that you can enjoy when you choose dentures in Las Vegas as well as when you select implants. We’ve updated this post in 2023 to give you additional information that may help you decide. 

Dentures: An Affordable, Painless Solution

There are a few clear benefits of dentures. One of the major benefits of dentures is that they do not require oral surgery. With a dental implant, you will undergo oral surgery to install metal posts into your jaw bone. The fake teeth are then placed onto the metal posts permanently. For dentures, you will have to remove any remaining teeth, but the tooth removal process is far less involved than dental implant surgery. With full or partial dentures, you will receive a set of fake teeth that simply adhere to the gum line that can be removed at your will. Dentures also provide full coverage over your entire upper or lower set of teeth, or both. If you have a larger number of missing teeth, dentures may be a good option for you. Since they don’t require surgery, dentures are also a more affordable solution compared to implants.

There are a few important disadvantages of dentures to consider as well. Since dentures don’t connect to your jaw bone, bone loss will occur over time, since the jaw bone isn’t experiencing the normal pressure it would from teeth. This also means that dentures may not fit comfortably after the jawbone has changed shape. Some patients find the denture removal and cleaning process to be arduous as well.

Implants: Promoting Health of Your Gums and Bone

As previously mentioned, implants must be placed with oral surgery. This process takes some time, and it can be expensive, but it offers a permanent solution that is most like your natural teeth. Once the implant has been placed and your mouth has healed after oral surgery, you’ll be able to brush and floss your teeth just like you normally would.

There are other advantages as well. Since a surgical implant post is placed in the bone with an implant, the risk of bone loss is minimal. This makes it a better overall solution for long-term health and well-being.

Implants are also a great solution whether you’re missing a few single teeth or even a whole arch. Individual implants are great when you only need one or a few teeth replaced. With All-on-X implants, all of your upper or lower teeth, or both, can be replaced with permanent teeth with a less intense and less expensive process than individual implants for each tooth. This procedure uses four implants to hold a set of prosthetic teeth in place. Since the implants are connected surgically to the jawbone, this also reduces the bone loss that’s often associated with dentures.

Should You Choose Dentures or Implants?

It can help to compare these two options side-by-side as you make your decision. Let’s take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of dentures and implants together.

As you can see, there are advantages and disadvantages of both dentures and implants. Budget is usually a key consideration when comparing the two options. Yet, whether or not dentures or implants are good options for you also depends on your dental health, overall health, and the unique state of your teeth. It is important that you get accurate information about both options from your dentist before you make a final decision about how to proceed. If you’re considering dentures or implants and you live in the Las Vegas, Nevada area, make an appointment at a BDG office. Our experts can give you more details, provide information about payment programs, and more.