How Long Do Overdentures Last

How Long Do Overdentures Last?
Traditional dentures continue to be a common treatment for full mouth teeth replacement because they can be the most cost-effective option. With well-designed dentures, you can restore the aesthetics of your smile and functionality of your mouth.
The single biggest disadvantage of conventional dentures is the reduced ability to chew because of the poor stability and support. Natural functionality is indeed compromised with dentures, creating difficulty eating certain foods. Wearing a denture on your lower arch is even more problematic than wearing one on the upper. The lower denture’s increased instability comes because of your tongue movement, which can dislodge the denture during chewing or speaking.
What are Implant Overdentures?
For a far better, more comfortable denture restoration, the implant supported overdenture provides significant stability and support by securing the removable denture onto a minimum of two dental implants. An attachment on the top of each implant provides a snapping mechanism, which retains the denture in place during biting, chewing, and speaking. It also can be removed for cleaning, maintenance, and sleeping.
* Advantages- The overdenture retention attachments keep the appliance from pressing down too hard on your gum line, therefore allowing you to bite harder foods without the discomfort experienced with a traditional denture. There is a dramatic improvement in comfort and functionality.
A severe gag reflex can cause issues when wearing an upper denture. Since the appropriate fit of an upper traditional denture comes from the suction effect on your palate, coverage of your palate is a requirement. If you experience a gag reflex, it is now difficult to obtain that perfect fit. In this case, an implant overdenture is a significant advantage and an amazingly comfortable solution. With the stability of the denture coming from the retention mechanism of the implant attachments, your palate is not covered, minimizing any gag reflex.
* Disadvantages- Implant-supported overdentures can still be compromising depending on your treatment objectives. With your denture removeable, functionality is not equal to complete dental implant treatment. Compared to a traditional denture, the overdenture function is a remarkable improvement, but still less than the functionality of natural teeth. Research has shown that traditional denture function is only about 20% of natural function. Overdentures will boast that percentage to 50% of your normal biting function, but this is less than what you would hope for from a permanent tooth replacement using dental implants.
* Maintenance- Maintenance will be required over time with any implant supported overdenture. The most frequent issue is the wear and tear on the attachment device. With the constant snapping in and out of the overdenture, the attachments wear out, resulting in reduced snap retention and a possible looseness of the overdenture. The normal replacement schedule is between 12 to 18 months. This maintenance can be done during your normal checkup. There will be a small cost associated with the replacement of any parts. The overdenture appliance that is supported on your gum tissue can also develop minimal change as it relates to a perfect fit, as the gum line itself might resorb. An implant overdenture might require occasional re-fitting. You could expect to reline an implant overdenture every three to five years to retain an optimal fit.