We won’t be surprised if in the near future that dental implants and dentures — together — become the standard for teeth replacement.
For a long time, people who were missing at least one row of teeth had two choices. Either they could get dentures, or they could live without teeth.
At Bayou Dental Group, we are grateful that dental implants were developed because they have changed the game in restorative dentistry.
When Dr. Finley places a set of implant-supported dentures for a patient, he knows he’s doing more than giving them back their smile. He’s also giving them back the confidence that their “teeth” will stay in place. He’s giving them back the ability to eat comfortably, too.
Call our dentist office if you live in or near Monroe, LA, to set up a consultation to find out how implant-supported dentures could change your life or the life of someone you love.
Picture A Family Gathering
The kids are running around and playing. The adults are chatting about changes in their lives — who’s getting married, who’s in college, who’s starting a new job.
Nearby, a spread of food is being prepared. The matriarch of the family spent the morning preparing one of her famous dishes, a delicious homemade mac-and-cheese.
The crispy, crunchy crust on the top is what makes it so great … it’s also the reason so no longer feels comfortable eating it herself.
With her dentures, biting into this delicious dish is just too much of a risk. She worries that her denture will be pushed out of place by the crust or pulled out of position when she tries to chew.
She’s happy to make it for her family. She loves seeing their reactions, but she’s going to pass on it herself this year.
If that was based on a real family, it would make us sad. Dr. Finley wants everyone — including grandma — to enjoy her best family recipes.
And implant-supported dentures make that possible. Implants can replace the roots of grandma’s missing teeth. At the same time, those implants provide secure and stable support for her dentures.
With the implants (instead of denture adhesive), grandma could eat as comfortably as she did when she still had all her teeth.
And that means she could enjoy a serving of her mac-and-cheese, too.
A Forceful Foursome
Believe it or not, it could take as few as four dental implants to provide the results described above for our fictional grandmother or for someone you know. (Maybe it’s you.)
With the All-on-4® procedure, we can give you back your smile and your bite in a few simple steps.
During your initial visit, Dr. Finley will examine your jaw. The main thing is the health of your jawbone. When you lose teeth, you start to use bone mass. If your bone mass has deteriorated too much, then there may not be enough to support your dental implants.
(If that is the case, we can discuss ways to rebuild your jawbone, such as bone grafts, so implant placement would be possible in the future.)
With a typical implant placement, you would have the implants placed, then you would have to wait months as your mouth healed before the dentures were attached.
All-on-4 speeds up this process. By using All-on-4, each implant is placed to provide the maximum benefit for you. This also allows us to place a temporary set of dentures on your implants before you leave.
As your mouth heals, you will notice that your bite force will grow stronger as well. When you are fully healed, you will return to have your permanent teeth replacements secured to your implants.
By that point, you will be pretty familiar with what you can eat, and you will feel confident that your dentures will stay in place, whether you are speaking, singing, or eating.
We can’t really explain how much of a different having implant-supported dentures can make in your life.
What we can say is that All-on-4 dentures have made the lives of many of our patients better. We’ve seen it and heard about when are patients visit us at Bayou Dental Group.
Keep On Smiling
Your All-on-4 implant-supported dentures can last a lifetime with proper care. It’s important to our staff and our dentists that our patients in and around Monroe, LA, have the most comfortable and secure dentures possible.
To find out if you are a good candidate for the All-on-4 procedure, fill out our online form or call 318-323-9303 to schedule a consultation.
