Is an Overdenture Right for You?

What exactly is an overdenture? In contrast to conventional dentures, which use gum adhesive to “stay in place” an overdenture is a more secure type of denture designed to go over your existing teeth or Dental Implants. Overdentures can “snap on” to the roots or implants. Overdentures can be a good solution for patients who have lost all of their teeth due to tooth decay, illness, etc.

For patients looking for a better, more comfortable way to wear dentures, an implant supported overdenture provides much greater denture stability and retention by snapping the removable denture onto at least two dental implants or healthy roots. An “implant attachment” on the top of the implant is used to create a snapping mechanism, which is strong enough to keep the denture in place when you chew, or bite into something. The snapping mechanism also allows you to easily remove the overdenture for daily cleaning and maintenance.

Benefits of Implant Overdentures

Saving your natural roots or having dental implants placed will preserve bone and will reduce bone resorption and deterioration that results in loss of jawbone height.
Implant overdentures will control facial contour changes that can make you look older.
Implant overdentures will allow you to chew your food better and speak more clearly.
Embarrassing loose dentures will be eliminated. Messy denture creams and adhesives are no longer needed with denture implants.

Overdentures are sort of that in-between solution for our patients. They offer more stability than traditional dentures, but do not offer the full stability of permanent tooth replacement with dental implants.

Overdenture Maintenance

While you take care of daily cleaning, your overdenture will need periodic adjustments, and eventually, replacement. The overdenture “snap on” attachments will eventually wear out over time. You should expect to need them replaced every 12 to 18 months. We can do this maintenance procedure at a normal cleaning appointment or as needed. In addition, an implant overdenture will require occasional re-fitting as time goes on. You should expect to reline an implant overdenture every 3-5 years to maintain the best fit.

Fixed Dentures

Unlike the overdenture, fixed dentures can’t be removed at home. They are fixed in place by your dentist. The firm connection to the implants gives fixed dentures a solid support that’s comparable to natural teeth. You can’t remove fixed dentures for cleaning. Instead, you brush and floss daily like you would with your natural teeth. However, a fixed denture requires a minimum of four to six dental implants to work properly. All of those implants must be placed in suitable, good-quality bone. This makes it a more complex (and more expensive) system.

Contact our dental office today at 410-666-9266 for a consultation.