If you have had problems with your mouth that have led to the removal or loss of your teeth, if you are like most people, you will be looking for a cosmetic way to replace them. You can either have a set of dentures made, or you can have dental implants inserted. Here is a quick summary of how each method is done and some benefits there are in each. This may help you decide which method would be right for you.

Dentures

Your doctor would use X-rays to have a computer model generated of your mouth. You would also need to give dental impressions. From this information, it could be determined how dentures would be placed in your mouth to cover up the holes where the missing teeth are located. The dentures would be made from a mold and you would need to wait for them to be constructed off-site. 

When your dentures arrive, you will be instructed on how to slide the end over your gums, and how to use denture glue to keep them in place. Dentures can give you a bit of pain when you are getting used to them. They will need to be taken out at night to clean, and to give your gum area a rest from being covered continuously. You may feel like they are going to fall out when you eat something. These are all normal feelings that may go away within time and as you get used to your dentures.

Implants

When having dental implants placed, you will be sedated so you are asleep during the process. Having implants placed is a surgical procedure. The doctor will make a cut through the gums to fuse metal rods to the underlying bone. They will stick out from your gums where your teeth used to be. You will need to pick out teeth in the color, shape and size that you think will look best when screwed onto these rods and they will be custom ordered.

When your implants arrive, your doctor will screw them into place and you will be able to go about your normal routine. The teeth will appear as if they were your own and you will be able to take care of them by brushing and flossing, as you did previously. You will be able to eat whatever you wish using implants and will not have any pain after the initial pain from healing from the surgery.