Some patients are quite happy with dentures and are able to eat satisfactorily with them, but they complain the dentures are so loose that they sometimes almost "fall out." A simple solution here would be to use two or three implants with attachments that secure the denture. The denture would still need to have some movement to prevent overloading of the implants. The denture itself would sit on the gum tissue for support of the chewing forces, however, it would be secure and not fall out as the implants and attachments would hold it in place.

Underside of denture showing attachments

Implants can also be used as abutments or supports for single crowns or bridges. In these situations a post is attached to the implant itself. The crown or bridge is then fitted to the post and is held in place by either cement or a small screw. These types of teeth are all fully implant supported and so require an adequate number of implants. The placement of these implants is also much more critical for proper function and esthetics.

In some cases these implants and crowns can be made to look exactly like a natural tooth and in other cases the teeth or crowns may look rather long with respect to the natural teeth. This is all dependent on how much gum and bone atrophy has taken place prior to placing the implant. A majority of this atrophy occurs within the first six months of a tooth extraction. Therefore if you are considering an implant to replace a tooth, we recommend not extracting the tooth if at all possible until the area has been assessed and a final treatment plan determined.

In most cases implants are placed and then the final crowns or overdentures are not placed until four to six months later once the implants have become rigid. Under certain circumstances it is possible to extract a tooth, immediately place the implant and in some cases place a temporary crown. This saves the patient from having to go through a second surgery and/or having to wait to place a tooth in the area.