Our dental health is very important. Missing teeth affect not only your smile, but even digestion. If you have lost teeth, you must decide whether you will replace them with dentures or dental implants.

Dentures were designed to replace missing teeth, but while denture material has come a long way, there are still some problems with them that haven’t been resolved yet, such as the strain that the denture places on the natural teeth to which it is hooked.

Dental implants require dental surgery. Implants are used to fill spaces when one, two, or more teeth are missing. The bone is drilled and then a metal implant is screwed into the bone, and you must then wait three months before a crown can be inserted over the metal implant.  In some cases where most of the teeth are missing, four implants are inserted into an upper or lower jaw, and then an entire permanent bridge of false teeth is inserted over them.

Let’s look at the pros and cons of dentures and dental implants.

Pros

Dentures are much less extensive dental implants. You might spend up to $3,000 for a complete set of dentures; it will be less if you need only uppers or lowers.

Of course, there are dentures that are not a full upper or lower set of teeth. They can be in the form of bridges to cover the space where the tooth is missing while being hooked onto the tooth on either side of the space. Partial dentures look like retainers with teeth on them that conform to the roof of your mouth.

Dental implants are a permanent solution to the problem of missing teeth. They are anchored in the bone and help to provide support for that area of the bone. When teeth are missing, the bone no longer has to provide support and it can get weak and break down.

Your teeth can be brushed as normal with implants. You can even floss. Your speech and voice won’t change due to any slipping of the implant.

Cons

Dentures are not very comfortable. Even when they are fitted properly, they can irritate the gum line and rub against the bone when you talk or eat. .

Dentures have to be removed to be cleaned. Using the wrong cleaner or rubbing too hard can lead to cracks in the dentures that can harbor bacteria in your mouth.

Dental implants are very expensive, costing as much as $3,500 for each implant and crown.  And dental insurance plans usually have an annual limitation of $1,500 on restorative work, and some plans will not cover anything toward implants.

Better bonding agents and cleaners have helped people with dentures to live normal lives once their teeth have been removed.

There are pros and cons to both of these dental solutions. Ask your dentist to recommend which they believe will work better for you.