Dentures are a surprisingly complex subject in dentistry. Many dental surgeons avoid providing this service because of this complexity. There are a lot of questions on this subject. Despite enormous advances in modern dentistry, complete edentulism (the loss of teeth) continues to be a major public health problem.
According to the World Health Organization, edentulism is defined as a physical impairment (because important body parts have been lost), a disability (because it limits people in performing at least two essential tasks of life — speaking and eating) and a handicap (because significant changes are needed to compensate for such deficiencies).
This impairment has all the characteristics of a chronic disease — it doesn’t change or abate, is incurable and requires specific management strategies to overcome its disruptive effects.
For well over a century, complete dentures have been the traditional standard of care for edentulism with its focus on replacing lost tissues (teeth, bone and gum tissues), though not necessarily function. Studies indicate that most people are more satisfied with their upper (maxillary) denture as compared to the lower (mandibular) one. And at least half of all lower denture wearers will not be satisfied with their retention (stability) or comfort.
Wearing dentures can have negative impact a patient’s overall quality of life. Assessing quality of life is complex — its attributes include adequate functional and psychological health, life satisfaction and self-esteem.
Edentulous patients with dentures, particularly those who have adapted to the treatment poorly, can encounter severe psychological and social consequences.
Simple implant treatment can help denture wearers especially with their lower jaw .
The original goal of implant treatment was to help patients avoid dentures altogether by treating their impairment with a non-removable or “fixed” prosthesis (tooth replacement device) supported by dental implants.
Dental implants replace the root parts of teeth that are anchored in the bone, below gum level, allowing attachment of the crown portions of teeth — the visible part of teeth you can see. And while this approach has helped many people, not all patients are candidates for this treatment.
Here is a video to explain this situation in a simple manner :