Dental Implants vs Dentures – Your Choice!
The problem with missing teeth are that not only are they unsightly, they can also affect your quality of life. The good news is that whether you opt for dental implants in Richmond, or conventional dentures, both can help improve the look of your smile and improve your quality of life. So what should you choose? Here’s a comparison to help you decide.
Price
Initially, dental implants are considerably more expensive. A single dental implant can be anywhere between £1000 and £2500 depending upon the circumstances. On the contrary you can get an entire set of dentures, both top and bottom for around £1700. Obviously partial sets of dentures are going to work out cheaper, so based on price alone, conventional dentures win.
Longevity
If your choice was based on price alone then it’s difficult to see why anyone would opt for dental implants. However you also have to take longevity into account. With dental implants, when you pay your £1000 or £2000, you’re getting a form of tooth replacement that has been proven to last forty years or more in some patients. On average though, 25 -30 years is the norm. Conversely when you buy a set of conventional dentures you can expect them to last a maximum of 10-12 years and many have to be changed before this time, depending upon the amount of jaw shrinkage the patient experiences. Knowing this, then suddenly dental implants can appear to be a good investment. In addition, many clinics also allow you to spread the cost over a period of time.
Chewing and eating
Even though both dentures and dental implants are far better than no teeth at all, there is a difference when it comes to chewing and eating. Dentures can over time slip and slide around in the mouth and this makes it difficult to eat certain foods. As a result some denture wearers avoid some of the foods they really like and that are good for them, because they can cause problems when it comes to chewing. Conversely, a dental implant in Richmond per se, is much stronger and rigidly fixed so it won’t slip and slide in the mouth. This means that you can eat whatever you like, allowing you to adopt a more healthy lifestyle if you so wish.
Looks
Even though modern-day conventional dentures are more lightweight, more comfortable, and more aesthetically appealing than ever before, they’re still limited to how lifelike they can look. On the contrary dental implants can be individually crafted to perfectly match the rest of your natural teeth, making it difficult to spot where your implants start and your natural teeth finish.
Convenience
Because of the nature of dental implants they aren’t a quick fix solution to missing teeth. Firstly it requires a surgical process to place the titanium implants into the jaw bone. Secondly healing time is needed for the surrounding bone tissue to fuse with the implant and finally when the implant maintains a solid platform the prosthetic crown can finally be placed. This usually takes anywhere between 4 – 9 months to achieve depending upon the patient. Alternatively, a patient requiring a conventional denture can be measured and the denture made and fitted in as little as a few weeks. What’s more it doesn’t require a surgical process.
As you can see, there are pros and cons for each form of tooth replacement so it really is up to you to weight them up carefully before you come to a full and final decision. If you’d like to find out more about dental implants in Richmond, then why not book yourself a free consultation with Dr Harmit Kalsi and the team. Here you can get your questions and concerns answered giving you the opportunity to make an informed dental decision. To book yours either visit our website at www.sheendentalimplants.co.uk or contact us directly on 020 8876 5277. We look forward to hearing from you.