by Dr. Vinograd
What would you say if I said your dentures could be comfortable and secure, restoring your ability to smile, speak and chew with comfort and confidence? The fact is a majority, as many as 90%, of people with lower dentures have problems, either with movement during speaking or eating, or with pain on biting and chewing. Many of these patients endure pain and embarrassment, thinking this is how it is with dentures.
Until now, they were pretty much right. The best solution for ill-fitting dentures that moved or hurt was invasive and costly implant surgery. Too many denture wearers are unable to have implants because they have insufficient bone in the jaw to support the implants.
A newly developed procedure, using much smaller implants, may be able to offer relief to many of these patients. Implant supported dentures from Brighton Dental use implants that are much smaller than traditional implants. The smaller size requires less bone to support, and the procedure to place them is much less invasive, requiring no stitches. The procedure requires only local anesthetic and can be performed in under an hour. After the implants are in place, the patient leaves the office with new or newly refitted dentures firmly in place.
Traditional implants cost around $7,000 or more, putting them out of reach of many denture wearers who often live on fixed incomes or earn a low wage. The process of placing these new dentures is much easier than traditional implants, and they cost less from the manufacturer. Thanks to these factors, they can be placed and existing dentures refitted for a little as $1,500.
“Many fully edentulous [completely toothless] patients wearing full dentures are retired and living on a fixed income, or they are low level income earners; in other words, the working poor,” explains Dennis P. Tarnow, DDS, professor and chairman of the department of implant dentistry at New York University College of Dentistry. Implant Supported Dentures Procedure from Brighton Dental “is ideal for these patients because of the lower expense involved and its non-invasive nature. It will help stop the bone loss in the jaw, prevent the pounding of the ridge by the denture, and overall save these people from becoming denture cripples.”
Many of the patients who have had this procedure have experienced almost immediate and dramatic transformations from pain and embarrassment that comes from dentures that don’t stay in place, to comfortable, confident smiles and pain-free eating that comes with dentures that stay securely in place without uneven pressure on the gums.
