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Teeth Implants to Replace Dentures? Quick and Easy Treatment
Traditional dentures could be extinct, thanks to the development of a new type of dental implant. The breakthrough surgery can give patients new teeth in just an hour or two, and is being heralded as a break-through for ordinary people with tooth problems.
Conventional dental implants have required a screw being placed in the jaw, and then attached to a post with a porcelain replacement tooth. This represented a problem for some people, as many do not have enough bone in their jaw in which to screw the implant, often because of erosion by gum disease.
This is the case for around fifteen per cent of over-60s, meaning they have to wear dentures or have a bone graft in the jaw to which the implant could be secured. This can be an extremely painful procedure which can take months, so most opt for dentures.
Dentures are manufactured from acrylic and plastic, but many are badly fitted and can move around the mouth, causing sores and general discomfort. Also, without a tooth in the jaw, the jawbone can begin to dissolve, causing shrinking cheeks. An estimated eleven million Britons wear dentures, with more than one million of those below the age of forty.
The new type of implant is simply extended, from ten to fifteen millimetres to fifty, and it screws into the cheek bone instead of the jaw bone. It means that many of those who are currently experiencing uncomfortable dentures have a chance at new teeth with minimal inconvenience.
Patients first have a 3D scan of the their jaw, so the implant can be guided into the bone without the need for surgery. The procedure is incredibly quick, just a third of the time taken to fit a denture, and the implanted teeth are as strong as the real thing.
The surgery is 95 per cent successful, and the technology is becoming more available to patients, with around 200, 000 in Britain already having had them.
Another possible alternative to dentures has emerged, in the shape of stem cells. Stem cells can be used to grow many different types of special tissue, and now scientists believe it can be developed to grow new teeth. The idea is that an infant tooth made from stem cells could be inserted into a gum and then a new tooth would grow. While those who are developing the treatment are optimistic it could be some time before this is widely available.
About the Author John Mce writes on behalf of The James Hull Group, who have been providing quality, value and innovative dental treatments including teeth implants since 1986.
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