Modern and Affordable Options to Replace Missing Teeth
If you have missing teeth, you are probably familiar with the discomfort and self-consciousness of missing teeth that are visible in your smile.
Though there are a few different options for replacing missing teeth, most of these methods come with downfalls. Worry not—there are still modern options with affordable pricing. This is your complete guide to the available options so that you can make a more educated decision when it’s time to choose a treatment plan.
Modern Tooth Replacement Options: Overview
Getting basic information about different treatment methods for missing teeth can be difficult. Let us give you the lowdown on your options.
Spoiler Alert: The most common “modern” tooth replacement options are out of date, inconvenient, or simply too expensive. That’s why we created Stabili-Teeth™, your same-day, lower-cost stable solution to missing teeth.
Want to skip the fuzz and see for yourself? Click here.
Dental Implants
Dental implants are a common place to start when discussing teeth replacement options. Implants are a more recent and innovative procedure than previous methods of tooth replacement, but they’re prohibitively expensive without guaranteed results,
There are a few different types of dental implants:
Endosteal implants: Endosteal implants are dental implants that are placed into your jaw. These implants are usually made of titanium and are shaped like small screws. This is the most common dental implant, but they require an existing amount of jaw bone to be attached. If a patient doesn’t have enough remaining jaw bone, additional costly dental surgeries will be necessary before receiving endosteal implants.
Subperiosteal implants: Subperiosteal implants are dental implants that are placed underneath your gums, but not in your actual jaw. Instead, these implants are placed on or above the jawbone such that a bone augmentation procedure is not needed. This type of dental implant is often used with patients who have a perfectly healthy natural jawbone or cannot or do not want to undergo bone augmentation, which is a procedure that rebuilds the jaw. These can have a high rate of rejection, up to 50 percent.
Immediate load implants: Immediate load dental implants are also referred to as same-day implants. This kind of implant allows for a temporary tooth to be placed in your mouth during the same appointment as your dental implant placement. Unfortunately, they too have a high implant failure rate, and it’s difficult to achieve adequate stability.
Narrow Diameter Implants (NDI’s), aka “Mini Dental Implants”: Mini dental implants, or MDIs, are also referred to as small implants or narrow diameter implants. This kind of implant is mostly used to secure a lower denture. Not much is known about their long-term survival, but their small size means more implants may be required if multiple teeth are being replaced, increasing the cost.
The right kind of dental implant for you will depend on the current state of your teeth as well as the state of the healthy teeth surrounding the areas where the implants will be placed. The condition of your jaw is also very important when it comes to which implant is best suited for you. Most importantly for dental implants, a patient will need to decide whether they can afford the procedure, including possible preliminary jaw procedures or implant rejection.
Useful Terminology for Dental Implants and Procedures
Building a better understanding of useful terms can make it easier to stay on the same page as your dentist, as well as have a more comprehensive idea of what your procedure might entail. Useful terms include:
Bone augmentation: Bone augmentation restores or regenerates bones in your jaw if your jaw is otherwise unable to support implants.
Sinus lift/sinus augmentation: A sinus augmentation entails adding bone below your sinus if the natural bone has begun to deteriorate. Most often, this kind of deterioration happens as the result of missing back teeth.
Ridge expansion: In cases where the jaw is not quite wide enough to adequately support implants, ridge expansion is necessary. Ridge expansion involves bone graft material being added to a small ridge that is created along the top of your jaw.
These treatments can be expensive, but they are often necessary for dental implants to be attempted.
Downfall of Dental Implants: Cost
Although dental implants can be an effective way to replace your missing teeth, it comes at a price. And a high price, at that.
Dental implants cost a few thousand dollars per tooth. More specifically, an estimated price per tooth replacement can range from $3,000-$4,500, making implants better for a single tooth replacement than for replacing multiple missing teeth. Even then, it’s a significant cost just to replace a single tooth.
The price of dental implants widely depends on the current condition of your teeth. Procedures like bone grafting or augmentation, sinus augmentation, or ridge expansion may make implants even more expensive. Dental implant treatments are customized to fit each patient’s specific needs, so it very much is dependent on what your concerns are and the condition of your teeth, gums, and jaw.
Dentures: Tried and True Method of Tooth Replacement
When you think of modern teeth replacement methods, dentures likely do not come to mind. They’ve been around for some time, and there are better modern options available. Dentures cause further loss of bone, which leads to the need for denture relines and the use of adhesives.
Dentures are detachable teeth replacements, and you can get partial dentures or a full set depending on the number of teeth you are missing. Dentures are a common alternative to implants if you want something less invasive, or if your jaw and gums are not in the proper condition to hold dental implants and you do not want the extra procedures needed to make your mouth suitable for implants.
Dentures are not as stabilized as other methods of tooth replacement, and they are very susceptible to wear and tear over time. You will probably need to replace them every few years. Dentures can become loose or otherwise ill-fitted over time due to natural shifts in your teeth, and ill-fitting dentures need to be adjusted by your dentist promptly or you risk damaging your teeth and jaw even further.
Dentures are also infamous for the discomfort caused by their extensive palatal coverage, and this coverage also leaves a space for food particles to get caught behind them. You can’t eat many foods with dentures, and they look more artificial than modern tooth replacement alternatives.
Even more, dentures require a notable amount of maintenance and care in order to keep them clean, and failure to take good care of your dentures can increase your risk of tooth decay, gum disease, and other oral infections because the bacteria on the dentures then gets placed back into your mouth. Although dentures may be a more simple alternative to traditional implants, their cost comes in the form of frequent replacements, difficult maintenance, and high risk.
Out With the Old and In With the New: A Modern Solution
So, dental implants are more modern but more expensive, and dentures are less modern but more affordable—and neither option sounds like the right one for you. What now?
That’s where we come in.
Stabili-Teeth™ was created as an alternative to the traditional DENTURES AND FIXED DETACHABLES (as in Clear Choice or All-on-Four) because although dentures have their downfalls, they have been proven to work marginally, while Fixed Detachables work great but the cost remains very high. Stabili-Teeth™ builds off of the concepts that have been successful and improve upon the aspects of a denture that have failed in the past.
Not only does this tooth replacement solution improve upon the traditional overdenture, but it also offers the same long-term reliability and long-lasting stability as dental implants without the exuberantly high cost.
In one appointment, you can enjoy full-smile restoration and improved tooth function. The Stabili-Teeth™ treatment process gives you immediate stability of prosthetic teeth, and on the day of surgery, you receive provisional prosthetic teeth to use until the final prostheses are installed once your mouth heals. Plus, you keep the original provisional teeth as a backup just in case. Stabili-Teeth™ includes a 5-year warranty, and our pricing includes bone grafting, tooth extraction, and sedation. Our all-inclusive price for one arch is $12,500, or $21,500 for full mouth restoration.
If you are looking to give the Stabili-Teeth™ treatment process a try, schedule your consultation today using our online form. This form asks you to describe the current condition of your teeth and gums so that we can more accurately assess your individual needs.
Missing teeth can be a hassle, but it doesn’t have to be a permanent problem. We are here to help you bring joy back into your life.
The Bottom Line
When it comes to modern and affordable options for replacing missing teeth, dental implants or dentures are the two most widely used solutions. Though dental implants are modern and effective, they are costly and often rejected by your body. Dentures are less modern but much more affordable. That affordability, though, means stability and sturdiness is sacrificed, and dentures are highly susceptible to wear and tear.
Stabili-Teeth™ is a modern and affordable solution, and it improves upon the traditional overdenture. If you are ready to get your life back, Stabili-Teeth™ is here to help.
Sources:
Types of Implants & Techniques - Types of implants & techniques (aaid-implant-org)
How much do dental implants cost? FAQs for implant dentistry (aaid-implant.org).
Dental Implants vs. Dentures: Weighing Their Pros and Cons (whatsthecost.org)