Happy New Year to all! 2014 is here, and it is February already! How time flies. And the winter is keeping us all on our toes as well. From sub-zero temperatures to ice storms to freezing rain; there seems no end to it at all! But we are Canadians, and as Canadians, we know that the three given things for us are winter, death and taxes. So I clam it and plod on. I’m sure you are doing the same.
Another thing we take for granted is eating. Eating breakfast, lunch, supper and dinner comes as naturally to us as breathing and watching hockey! We think not about making a stop at a favorite Tim Horton’s coffee and donut shop and ordering say, a large double double with a sandwich or a toasted bagel. What is there to think about it? Chewing a favorite food, whether it is your mom’s casserole, a favorite pie recipe or biting into a delicious apple or pear, or a jalapeno-asiago bagel with light cream cheese, we assume teeth are immortal and will always serve us, no matter what.
But there are a lot of people out there that are not so fortunate. Going to a restaurant is like a Herculean task for these. They start thinking about all the insurmountable obstacles in their path. What will I order? Will the menu have soft food choices? Can I just order rice and potatoes? What can I eat that is not sticky or chewy? Will my friend find out I have false teeth and they don’t fit? Will my dentures come loose during a conversation? What do I do now?
If you are one of them, you know exactly what I am talking about. Ill-fitting dentures are as common as ill-fitting shoes or eyeglasses with tight frames. They are more common than most will admit. Loose dentures in Mississauga or Etobicoke is not just a local issue, it’s a wider issue on a national scale. Consider the facts. Humans are living longer, easily touching the 80-year mark for men, and longer for women. How many of these long-lived people have all their natural teeth in place past the 60th year? So, missing teeth is a reality of life in the later years. But replacing them is not such a complex or unpredictable task as it was a few years ago. At the same time, people wearing dentures has more than halved in the last 60 years due to advancements in modern dental techniques and conservative dentistry that we perform today that puts emphasis on saving teeth rather than pulling them.
However, there will always be people who need missing teeth replaced. Here in Mississauga, dental bridges and dental implants are the two fixed techniques of replacing missing teeth that are fixed in the mouth. Dentures, whether partial or complete replace some or all missing teeth with removable dentures. These need to be removed at night so the gums may rest at night. As time goes by, dentures fit less well than they did when they were made. The most common reason for this is the gums and jawbone on which these are resting are resorbing and remodelling on an ongoing basis. The dentures get wobbly or fit less and less as this jawbone resorption progresses in later years. Besides a reline procedure or a new set of dentures, another option to think about are dental implants.
Dental implants are titanium alloy screws that are surgically placed in jawbone to either hold a removable denture in place or have a tooth-like cap or crown made to fit over it. Contrary to popular belief, dental implants are well tolerated by most people, and the discomfort after surgery is minimal, if any.
Anatomy of a dental implant
If you look at the photo of the cross-section of a dental implant, you will understand what I am getting at. The implant is well integrated into live living bone and the part that sticks out is called abutment, is where the tooth-shaped crown is attached.
This implant can also receive a cylindrical attachment called a LOCATOR (Zest Anchors Inc, California) and be used to retain a denture with confidence.
This denture is then called an ‘implant-supported overdenture’ or overdenture for short.
I have seen patients’ confidence soar with a well-made overdenture and in Mississauga, we are one of a few dental offices where overdentures can be made from start to finish, including the surgical aspect of it.
Proper planning is essential though, and hence, we urge you to call in for an initial consult first. Please call our main office line on 905-279-1818 to schedule your first consult if you wish overdenture treatment utilising dental implants for support and stability. You will be glad you read this blog, as now you know a new technique that can help a mom or dad or grandparent eat well and stay healthy!
dental implants with LOCATOR attachments for dentures.
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