Dental Implants For Improved Confidence – And The Ability To Eat Whatever You Want!
If you have missing teeth or currently wear dentures, you might like to learn more about dental implants.
Bradley and Partners Dental & Implant Clinic was first established in 1880, a long time before dental implants became an option for replacing any missing teeth. Dentures were the only available option for a long time and have certainly fulfilled a purpose as well as improving aesthetically over time. There are still some things about dentures though that don’t change and that make them occasionally unstable and loose in the mouth at times.
Dentures always sit on the gums, whether attached using a denture adhesive or clips. This can make them prone to moving when you eat and speak. Sometimes this can become more pronounced over time as the bone in the area of the missing tooth lessens and the dentures don’t fit as well as they used to.
This instability can be uncomfortable, causing the gums to be sore, but the bigger problem for most people is when they move while socialising. It also makes eating certain foods quite difficult at times. There is currently only one way to be sure that your tooth replacement will be strong and stable and that is to choose dental implants, a popular tooth replacement procedure at our long-established Canterbury dentists.
Improving your confidence
We mentioned in the previous section that dentures sit on top of the gum attached with clips and/or denture adhesive, but are still prone to movement especially when we have had them for a while. This movement can be frustrating enough when we are alone, but imagine how much worse this might be if we are with friends or even a potential new partner? The evening is going well and then you realise your date is looking at you a little strangely while you are talking to them. To your horror, you realise that your dentures are moving about and worse still, they have noticed them doing so. This is definitely a look you wouldn’t be going for! Even a small movement that isn’t noticed can also cause your speech to change and you may struggle to get certain words out correctly. This can easily have an impact on your confidence.
Even if you avoid this part of the problem; as the relationship advances, there will be a point when you have to take your dentures out and soak them overnight. It could come as a shock to your partner to wake up next to someone with missing teeth or to see their dentures in a glass of water at the bedside.
Even everyday situations can be embarrassing too if your dentures have a tendency to move. Business meetings can also be difficult, especially with a new client where first impressions can make a big difference.
If you replace dentures with implants, or immediately replace a lost tooth, none of the above will happen. Because dental implants are in effect an artificial tooth root with a crown attached, implants are extremely secure and will not move around in the mouth at all. In fact, while there may be a point in some relationships where you have to admit you are wearing dentures, there is no need to mention your dental implants at all as they look and feel natural and you can clean them in the same way that you do your own natural teeth.
Eating the food of your choice
One of the most common reasons why people choose to have dental implants is because they are fed up with the dietary restrictions that dentures can cause. As they are prone to movement, biting on certain foods can make this even more likely and could even, in some situations, cause them to come out of the mouth altogether. Anything that is hard, or chewy, such as a steak, could well cause movement of your dentures when you eat. Again, in social circles, this is likely to cause some embarrassment but is also likely to mean that after attempting this a few times, the next time you dine out you may well avoid food that you enjoy and opt for softer and easier to chew food such as fish. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing it can spoil your enjoyment of a pleasant evening.
In some cases, this restriction could potentially have an impact on your health too, especially if you are an older person who wears dentures. Getting sufficient proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals is especially important as we grow older. Having to avoid some foods due to denture wearing could restrict the range of foods you eat and potentially cause you to miss out on some of these. This is one reason why dental implants are popular with older people, especially as we tend to socialise further into our later years than was once the case.
Chewing our food well is also an important part of the digestive process and if it is not sufficiently chewed before swallowing, could result in indigestion and ‘gasiness’. Chewing your food well also enables you to get the full benefits of the flavour of the food that you are eating.
As you can see, dental implants have so many advantages over dentures. Even though the procedure to have implants placed may be a little more complex and require some initial patience, the fact that they can last for twenty years or more, providing that you look after them as advised, means that they offer a fantastic long term solution for missing teeth and are easier to keep clean than dentures too.
If you live in the Canterbury area and would like to learn more about having dental implants and the procedure involved, we are happy to help. Simply call Bradley and Partners Dental & Implant Clinic on 01227 463529 to arrange an initial consultation with the implant dentist to discuss this in more detail.