Offer confidence to enjoy all the foods you crave
If you have dentures, you know some foods are out of bounds for you.
That’s because you can’t confidently bite down on some of the things you previously enjoyed.
You feel left out, unfulfilled, even inadequate.
That’s no way to live life.
But a leading Richmond denturist, Alex Hupka of Esthetics Denture Studio, has a solution – dental implants.
While you may have heard increasingly more about them, as they become a mainstream treatment for those who need to replace several teeth, implants for those with full dentures can also provide a remarkable outcome.
“A lot of patients say it’s like getting their teeth back,” says Hupka, who provides what is called precision implant dentures.
Here’s how it works:
Denture-wearing patients seeking a permanent solution receive a referral to a dental surgeon who performs the actual implant process – usually four in the upper portion of the mouth and two on the lower.
Working closely with the surgeon, Hupka then produces a set of dentures that can clip onto the implants to provide an extremely secure attachment.
“When done correctly the denture will stay down, and food won’t find its way underneath,” Hupka says. “With regular dentures, you can flick your tongue and flip your dentures out.
“Once you have implants, it’s challenging to do that.”
Standard dentures have to rely on a good fit and suction – mostly for the upper set – to remain in place.
But as a person ages, the shape of their gums changes, impairing the original fit and ultimately that requires alterations.
Precision dentures fitted to implants significantly decrease that probability. And you have the confidence to tackle more hearty foods.
“With dentures, you can apply about 75 pounds of pressure when you bite down,” Hupka says. “With implants and precision dentures, that jumps to about double.
“But the biggest change comes with stability, which improves 100 percent,” Hupka adds.
It takes roughly five months for lower implants with dentures to be completed, while the process for the upper set takes about six to eight months.
“That’s mostly due to the body’s healing mechanisms,” Hupka explains, “because the upper bone in your mouth is like balsa wood and the bottom is like oak. Complete healing takes one year, which is how long the bone needs to completely mature.”
But once done, feel free to order whatever is on the menu.
“I have never heard a patient say they regret getting implants,” Hupka says. “Once they have implants, it’s a wide-open world for them in terms of what they can eat and enjoy.”
For more information about dental implants and how they can change your life, visit alexhupkadenturist.ca or call 604-279-9151.