Dentures versus Overdentures

If you are missing all of your teeth, you have options for replacing them. One of the most traditional ways is through full, traditional dentures. These dentures are complete sets of new teeth that are fitted over your gums and palette. They are removable and indeed, must be removed and cleaned every day. Overdentures are sets of teeth that are held in place in your mouth through various implants and structures. Overdenture technologies have been around for a while, and while they can be a bit more expensive, most patients report many benefits of implant supported overdentures over traditional dentures.

Implant Supported Overdenture: what is it?

This is a type of prosthesis is supported on the mucosa and implants. The overdenture on implants offers perfect stability and, moreover, guarantees its users perfect aesthetics and excellent phonetic ability. Generally, an implant supported overdenture guarantees great comfort and perfect ease in maintaining oral and dental hygiene. Among the most common types of implant prostheses, we can indicate the following: overdentures with bars, overdentures with ball attachments and overdentures with locators, are currently the three most used.
It should be noted that any type of overdenture does not require any palatal coating, it can also be removed by the patient after each meal, facilitating cleaning, hygiene and dental care. Other advantages for the patient are the following:

• Remarkable improvement in chewing strength of 300% compared to other types of dental prostheses existing in fixed and removable prosthesis laboratories.
• Conventional full dentures tend to move slightly when the patient speaks or makes sounds, but the prosthesis overdenture on implants offers absolute fixation without producing any type of alteration or problem while the patient wears it.
• Implant supported overdentures may slightly reduce the need for soft tissue prosthesis extension, improving patient wear tolerance.
• In patients suffering from jawbone atrophy, the existence of implants facilitates a very specific design of the prosthesis, maintaining a vertical dimension and a much more natural facial appearance compared to the result obtainable with a traditional prosthesis.

Overdentures are particularly useful in the lower jaw, as removable full dentures are much more uncomfortable in the jaw than upper full dentures. This is due to the fact that the presence of the tongue and the type of bone resorption that takes place in the jaw do not allow the lower prosthesis to be adequately supported, making it very uncomfortable for most patients and often impossible to use.
It is a cost-effective solution, as fewer implants are needed than for a full fixed denture on implants. The number of implants required depends on the particular case of each patient and the arch to be rehabilitated. The lower jaw requires a minimum of two implants, while the upper jaw requires a minimum of four dental implants.

Implant-borne overdentures are performed with the same clinical protocol as a removable full denture. The difference with this type of prosthesis is that the overdentures have fixing systems on their internal base, which are held by friction and by attachments screwed to the implants.

As you can see, overdentures are a type of prosthesis that offer many options and make the daily life of the people who wear them easier. In addition, overdentures can be used in those who have atrophy in the jawbone and who need a prosthesis on implants.

Difference Between Bar Retained Overdenture and Implant Supported Overdenture