Snap-in Dentures
If you are missing multiple teeth, you are compromising the health of your jaw, as well as your overall health. When teeth fall or are removed, whether due to injury or a dental condition, the bones of the jaw are eventually resorbed. This means that the bone tissue itself deteriorates, depleting over time and leading to a sunken appearance in the lower face. Of course, without teeth, your ability to chew will also be adversely affected, diminishing not only your enjoyment of food but your ability to ingest sufficient nutrients for optimal health. Thankfully, dental implant technology has created many different options to restore the bones of the jaw and the ability to eat a complete and enjoyable variety of foods. Snap-in dentures are merely one of these many options, though for many patients, they are the best option for dental restoration. While conventional dentures can slip out of place or be ill-fitting and uncomfortable, snap-in dentures are stable and comfortable. Once the jawbone has healed after implants are placed, snap-in dentures are easy to maintain, easy to wear, and long-lasting.
Dental implant fixtures are small cylindrical screws, usually made of titanium, that are surgically implanted into the bones of the jaw. As these fixtures heal, they fuse to the bone that surrounds them, in a process called osseointegration. Once osseointegration has occurred and the fixtures have securely healed into the bone, these implant fixtures will hold your snap-in dentures in place. While many snap-in dentures can involve as few as two to four implant fixtures to support an entire row of teeth, at times, more implant fixtures are needed -- sometimes as many as ten. These implant fixtures can be used to support a few different types of dentures that contain a varying number of teeth. These dentures may be permanently fixed to the dental implant fixtures, or they may be removable.
Though both types of dentures are removable, snap-in dentures are universally more stable than conventional removable dentures, as they affix firmly to the implant fixtures, while removable dentures sit atop the gum tissue with little mechanical support. Removable dentures can loosen or slip, adversely affecting the wearer’s ability to speak clearly, while snap-in dentures remain firmly in place. Snap-in dentures allow their wearers to chew more securely, too, enabling them to eat a complete variety of foods, even including foods that are hard or sticky. Snap-in dentures don’t apply uncomfortable friction to the gums like conventional dentures do and are designed to fit better than their conventional, removable counterparts. They are also widely perceived to be far more natural-looking than conventional dentures. In addition to all of these clear benefits, snap-in dentures help preserve the jawbone and prevent further bone loss. Combined with the overall improved health benefits that come with greater nutritional variety, the support they provide the jawbone provides additional health benefits.
While it’s clear that snap-in dentures confer multiple benefits to their wearers, they do have some drawbacks. It’s important to enter into any medical procedure informed, and weighing these drawbacks is an important part of that process. The most daunting part of snap-in dentures is that surgery is inevitably part of the procedure. Dental implant surgery is an integral part of the restoration process. While the complication rate with dental implant surgery is extremely low, any procedure that requires anesthetic carries some risk with it. Snap-in dentures are also more expensive than conventional, removable dentures and, in many cases, they may not be covered by dental insurance. If a significant amount of bone has resorbed, there may be insufficient bone to support implants, requiring bone grafts. When bone grafts are necessary, the cost increases, along with the healing time. Finally, while they are considered a longer-term option than conventional, removable dentures, snap-in dentures do eventually break down, and the attachments themselves may loosen over time and require periodic maintenance.
If you’re considering snap-in dentures, check with your dental insurance provider to learn if they are covered. If they aren’t, you may need to prepare to pay out of pocket, and understanding the cost is a significant part of this. Your dentist will review the overall cost of the procedure with you before beginning treatment, but implants tend to average about $6,000 for a procedure involving two implant fixtures. When additional procedures are needed, this cost increases, and it also increases with each additional implant fixture that may be needed.
The best way to make the most of your investment is to maintain your snap-in dentures and help them last a long time. If they aren’t permanently screwed into place, it’s imperative to clean the oral cavity thoroughly every day before snapping the restorations into place. Using a soft-bristled brush to gently clean the soft tissues of the gums and palate, as well as the tongue, helps ensure that the oral cavity is free of debris and bacteria before attaching the teeth. Of course, it’s also important to clean the dentures while they are out of the mouth, rinsing them thoroughly after eating to remove any food debris that may get trapped beneath them and keeping them stored in water while they are not in use. It is also beneficial to brush the dentures gently with a soft-bristled brush to remove any surface particles from the dentures.
You and your dentist can work together to decide whether you get snap-in dentures that are permanently attached or opt for the removable type. The primary determinants to guide this choice are your specific dental needs and your budget. Removable snap-in dentures are taken out nightly for cleaning, while fixed dentures can only be removed by a dentist. Removable snap-in dentures may be less stable than permanent dentures and may slip out of place. Permanent dentures generally cost more than removable dentures. The procedure for placing the implant fixtures that support snap-in dentures can take time, including the all-important healing time that helps implants be as stable as they are, but for most people, the overall benefits of implant-supported or implant-retained snap-in dentures far outweigh this greater healing time and higher cost.