DENTURES VS IMPLANTS: PROS AND CONS
The real life, practical dentures vs implants pros and cons are what you need to know to decide which tooth replacement option is best for you. It makes sense. At the end of the day, we all care a whole lot more about how our teeth feel and look than we care about the technical specs of our tooth replacement choice. The only problem is that normally only dentists who do lots of both dentures and implants know those every day practical differences. That’s why we wrote this page – to share the knowledge wealth!
On this page, we share the dentures vs implants pros and cons that we’ve seen make the difference for our patients with both dentures and implants. Our goal is to help you better understand the differences and how they might affect you in real day-to-day life: eating, talking, confidence levels, financial stuff. Keep reading to get the full scoop including dentures vs implants cost, eating with dentures vs implants, comfort of dental implants vs dentures and cosmetics of permanent dentures vs implants.
- DENTURES VS IMPLANTS COST
- LIVING WITH DENTAL IMPLANTS VS DENTURES
- EATING WITH DENTURES VS IMPLANTS
- HOW DO PEOPLE FEEL WITH DENTURES VS IMPLANTS
- HEAR FROM ONE OF OUR PATIENTS
- THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS
- WHICH LOOKS BETTER
- CONCLUSION
- BEFORE AND AFTER PATIENTS
DENTURES VS IMPLANTS COST
When talking about implants vs dentures, most people already know that cost is the main difference.
Not surprisingly, implants cost more than dentures. However, it’s important to remember that your options to deal with tooth loss are limited to only implants or only dentures. Plain removable dentures are the most affordable option. Fixed implant bridges or All-on-4 are the most expensive option. Why do people go with dentures when a higher tech option is available?
Keep reading to find out… you may be surprised. Implant Supported Dentures sit in the middle of the average cost road, more expensive than regular dentures, less expensive than All-on-4.
So why do people spend the money on implants when they could save money with dentures? Keep reading to find out!
LIVING WITH DENTAL IMPLANTS VS DENTURES
Most people report a better quality of life with dental implants vs dentures. Why?
Dental implants are stable and strong. Teeth on dental implants don’t move around in the mouth. They don’t necessarily feel the same as natural teeth; however, they do feel anchored and they can bite into ANYTHING. Because implants are anchored into bone, they require proper care to prevent gum disease.
While dentures look and feel much better than broken or rotten teeth, they tend to get loose. Movement during eating, talking, laughing and smiling is one of the number one complaints people have about dentures. In addition, dentures don’t mean the end of oral hygiene. Proper care and yearly denture maintenance are key to keeping a denture comfortable and your mouth healthy.
EATING WITH DENTURES VS IMPLANTS
This is the other MAJOR difference between the two options.
Because dentures aren’t anchored in place, they move when chewing. This limits your diet to softer foods, makes you take smaller bites and generally requires extra concentration to eat. Implants allow you to eat what you want, how you want. Anchored into the bone like teeth, implants let you chew everything from steak and beef jerky to carrots and toffee.
Implants cost more; however, they also let you eat more!
HOW DOES EACH OPTION IMPACT HOW YOU FEEL?
The answer to this questions depends on what people are coming from. Denture patients who have suffered with broken and missing teeth LOVE getting a fresh start with the brand new beautiful smile their dentures give them. Our denture patients tell us they feel more confident, happier and more comfortable than they did when they had toothaches and infections.
On the other hand, if patients have had dentures for a while and been frustrated by denture movement and sores, then they tend to be very excited about implants holding their teeth in place.
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HEAR FROM ONE OUR PATIENTS
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS
Our patients tell us that getting rid of nasty teeth and replacing them with dentures feels marvelous. However, relief and gratitude aren’t the only emotions people experience when they lose their teeth. Teeth form a surprisingly key part of our identity and perceived age. Losing them creates feelings of grief and loss. Losing them also gives some people the impression that they are nearing end of life. Our patients tell us that the fact that dentures are removable and come out each night makes them feel older and more vulnerable. Overall, losing teeth is emotionally complicated and includes both grief and relief.
Fixed teeth on implants do not have the same psychological effects because teeth aren’t completely lost. The implant teeth look and function like real teeth. Each person responds to losing their teeth for dentures differently, but when people take it especially hard, we recommend considering implants.
WHICH LOOKS BETTER?
Because we are a cosmetic dental office, there is not a major cosmetic difference between our dentures and our implant teeth. Both are beautiful and lifelike. There is, however, a difference between the way that they age cosmetically over time as a result of bone loss. Here’s what we mean.
Implants minimize bone loss in the jaws. That means that face structure stays fairly similar over time. In other words, implants slow facial aging.
Unfortunately, dentures do not slow bone loss. This means that the jaw bones shrink which slowly collapses the face. As the bone structure shrinks, the skin stays the same, resulting in extra wrinkles and the characteristic “old man” face.
Even though the teeth themselves look similar, implant teeth age better long term thanks to the way they slow aging.
CONCLUSION: Dentures vs Implants Pros and Cons
- Dentures and implants are BOTH better than rotten or missing teeth.
- Dentures and implants BOTH provide a beautiful new smile.
- Implants cost more than dentures.
- Implants let you eat anything.
- Dentures limit what and how you can eat.
- Implants slow bone loss and aging.
- Dentures do nothing to slow bone loss or aging.
- Both implants and dentures offer a major improvement after broken & missing teeth.
- Denture wearers frequently report depressive aging feelings after losing their teeth.
- Implants feel, psychologically, like teeth.
- Overall, implants provide the highest quality of life.
- Dentures provide the least expensive way to replace broken and missing teeth.
If your primary concern is saving money, choose dentures. You can always look into adding implants later.
If your primary concern is quality of life, choose implants. They preserve bone, facial esthetics and let you eat a regular diet. You feel like you have teeth.