Permanent Dentures Vs. Removable Dentures

If you have been told that you'll be losing all the teeth in one of your jaws or both, it's time to look into your options for replacing those teeth. While being told that your teeth are beyond saving once left patients with little choice but to be fitted with conventional, removable dentures, there are other options available today, such as permanent dentures. An implant-based dental restoration, permanent dentures in Singapore have become a very popular treatment for resolving total tooth loss, providing patients with a number of important advantages over removable dentures.

Removable Dentures

Removable dentures are those classic false teeth – the type your parents or grandparents may have had in a glass on their bedside table at night. These traditional dental appliances have served many generations of people well, restoring their ability to speak and eat properly. However, they have never been a perfect solution to tooth loss, posing a variety of problems with long-term use.

Bone loss is one of the most important of these. Patients who wear removable dentures gradually lose bone in the jaw, the bone tissue that once anchored tooth roots to the jaw melting away with disuse – a process called resorption. As the jawbone melts away, support for removable dentures is undermined, since the size and shape of the gum ridge upon which they rest changes with that of the bone beneath it.

The result is a loosening of denture fit over time, which typically leads to denture slipping and discomfort, slurred speech and difficultly eating. For this reason, removable dentures must be relined or replaced every 5 to 10 years. Often, after dentures have been readjusted time and time again, bone loss grows severe enough that a proper fit becomes difficult or even impossible to achieve.

Aside from the functional issues that bone loss causes, it often takes quite a toll on a person's appearance – an effect that dental professionals call facial collapse. As the size and shape of the jawbone changes, the distance between nose and chin shortens and support for cheeks and lips degrades, allowing creases and hollows to form, giving the face and aged appearance.

Permanent Dentures In Singapore

Permanent dentures are quite different than removable dentures. They are fixed dental appliances, anchored by a series of dental implants – anywhere between 4 and 8 – that are surgically placed into the jawbone to function as artificial tooth roots. Since implants stimulate bone growth and repair like natural tooth roots, implant-based dental restoration offers protection against bone loss.

Permanent dentures will not loosen over time like removable dentures, they will not slip or click as you eat or speak. You will not have to take them out and soak them in a glass on your bedside table at night. They can only be removed by your dentist and are cared for in the same way as natural teeth; brushing, flossing and professional dental cleanings. In fact, permanent dentures look, feel and function like natural teeth, offering better biting and chewing efficiency than removable dentures, as well as greater comfort and longevity – dental implants have an average lifespan of 25 years, and in many patients, last a lifetime.

So if you're facing total tooth loss, looking into permanent dentures in Singapore is well worth your time. Of course, dental implant restoration isn't for everyone, so you'll need to check with your oral surgeon to be sure you're a good candidate. Most people are these days, thanks to advancements in material and techniques over the years – even many who have been wearing removable dentures for years.