An interview with...

A relatively simple procedure by an implant dentist, the placing of implants within the jawbone of a complete denture wear can greatly improve self-esteem and a person's outlook on life. Gone are the worries of unstable dentures whilst eating and talking, implants will give your dentures the stability and function that they have been missing since the loss of your own natural dentition. Not only can dental implants give a denture wearer more confidence when they eat they give people back the feeling of control too. So that when a denture wearer goes to that nice restaurant and sees something new you want to try, with implants they can have the confidence to order anything off the menu and enjoy it to the full.

Benefits include -

• A reassuringly stable, secure and harmonious fit of your denture to your gums
• Restored chewing ability, helping to improve your diet and overall health
• Improved speech and taste with less denture base
• No pressure points, sore spots – and no more denture tilting
• Ends the cost, inconvenience and embarrassment of denture adhesives
• Can prevent any further shrinkage of your jawbone

Artificial teeth like anything in today's world are evolving and always progressing. New layering techniques and better quality machining ensure that the teeth we now use far exceed the quality of what has been used previously. Denture teeth now take on the look of natural teeth with the shading and translucency to match the patients existing or lost teeth. With developments in materials science hybrid materials, which are are mixture of ceramic and composite, are now used so the replacement teeth look great and don't wear down.

More recent developments mean we can now offer patients denture teeth that are gender specific in a range of young, universal or mature moulds.

It takes time to adjust to any new denture within the mouth let alone losing the last of your remaining teeth. The realisation of total tooth loss can be very hard to accept for some clients, but it is our role as a CDT to help them understand that things may not be as bad as they may think. Clear and honest facts on what will happen over the next few months after tooth loss is the only approach, and I feel that will help them appreciate and understand what is happening in their mouth. Dependent on what the client has had extracted, from a few last remaining teeth to a full mouth rehabilitation a step by step approach and planning can only help the client. It may be several months down the line after extractions that the patient gets their final restorations. The role of dental implants should be discussed and considered everytime.