If you're missing multiple teeth, chances are you received a set of dentures at some point. While dentures do provide a method of replacing missing teeth, they're not the best way to do it. Dentures can cause a lot of problems for their owners, like wear and tear on the gums, looseness, awkward speech, and more. If you're tired of the downsides that your dentures come with, here's three reasons why it's time to upgrade to dental implants.

Implants Create a Natural Look

One of the biggest problems with dentures is that they don't look exactly like real teeth. Since dentures are made in one piece, they tend to move as one unit and each individual tooth looks a little too similar to its neighbor.

Dental implants, on the other hand, are individual replacements for each tooth that you're missing. Each one is designed to perform the task that your original teeth were. So if you're missing an incisor, your dental implant will have a narrow point at its tip. In addition, there's a small amount of space between each tooth, unlike dentures, since the dental implants take up the spots where your original teeth once resided.

Implants Can Increase Jaw Strength

While dentures perform the tasks of eating and chewing pretty well, they don't do anything for what lies beneath the surface. Real teeth help to keep your jaw bones strong by acting as conduits for the pressure they're exposed to when you bite down. That pressure travels through the tooth and its root into your gums and then the jaw bone, where it stimulates new bone cells to grow.

Jaws become weaker over time if they aren't exposed to this pressure on a regular basis. You may have already noticed that your jaw doesn't look as defined or sharp as it once did. The good news is, dental implants can begin the process of strengthening your jaw back to where it used to be.

Implants Last Longer

Lastly, dentures are simply outmatched by dental implants when it comes to how long they last. On average, dentures survive around five years, assuming that you take tip-top care of them. Dental implants, on the other hand, often last up to a quarter of a century. This ensures that if you switch to dental implants now, you won't have to worry about getting them replaced for a very long time. This may even help you to save money in the long run, since you won't be regularly replacing dentures anymore.

Dental implants can drastically improve your appearance and the health of your jaw. If you're tired of dentures, talk to resources like Dr. Mahnaz Rashti about switching to dental implants.