The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons states that 70% of adults in the United States aged 35 to 44 years have at least one missing tooth due to tooth decay, gum disease, dental fractures, or accidents. And the American Academy of Implant Dentistry states that roughly 30 million Americans are missing all of their teeth in one or both jaws.
Whatever the reason may be, unfortunately, missing or damaged teeth can cause considerable pain, embarrassment, and further oral damage. If you are missing or have any damaged teeth, there are two options recommended by dentists as a remedy. Those options would be to replace them with dentures or implants.
Ultimately the decision is yours to make, but let’s review the pros and cons of each option to help you determine which option is best for you.
DENTURES
Pros
- Less costly than implants, dentures are often the most affordable option.
- Dentures can be trial tested, where implants cannot.
- Dentures provide time for your mouth to heal following tooth removal surgery.
- The denture creation process is non-invasive and requires no surgery.
- Any damage done to dentures can be easily fixed or modified.
Cons
- Dentures look a bit less natural than implants.
- Dentures require thorough, routine cleaning maintenance, which comes at extra costs with cleaning products.
- Dentures cannot be worn overnight.
- Loose dentures can impede speech and eating habits, including being unable to eat certain foods.
- Dentures can present increased risk of gum disease.
- There an is often a need for replacements every 3 to 6 years with dentures.
- Some dentures can weaken the natural teeth that still exist.
IMPLANTS
Pros
- Implants are easy to maintain and care for, simply requiring routine brushing and flossing as you would your natural teeth.
- Implants look and feel like natural teeth.
- You can eat any type of food with implants without restrictions.
- Implants will not affect speech like dentures can.
- Overall bone health is preserved because implants replace the root and tooth, and will not affect neighboring teeth.
- Implants are less likely to require future dental procedures.
- Which means that dental implants will last for decades under proper care.
Cons
- Implants are rather expensive.
- One or more surgical procedure will be required for implants.
While cost is a major reason people make their decision for oral replacement options, it’s important to know that while implants may be an expensive initial solution, dentures will eventually require replacements and costly upkeep to maintain their usefulness over time.
Contact us today to learn more about Aesthetic Family Dentistry, the pros and cons of dentures and dental implants, or to schedule a consultation with Dr. Wu. We look forward to meeting you!