Are Dentures About To Bite The Dust?
Conventional dental implants have involved placing a screw in the jaw, which is attached to a post with a porcelain replacement tooth. Some people do not have enough bone in their jaw into which to screw this standard implant, usually because of erosion by gum disease. For these people, around 10 to 15 per cent of the over 60s, the only option has been to settle for dentures or have a bone graft in the jaw into which the implant could be secured.
This can be a painful procedure that takes months to complete. Dentures are made from acrylic and plastic which fit over the gum and are worn during the day. The problem is that many are ill- fitting and can move around the mouth causing sores and they may sometimes fall out. In addition, without a tooth in the jaw, the bone can start to dissolve, causing shrunken cheeks. Millions of people wear dentures and many of them are in their thirties or younger.
The new “guided zygomatic” implant is a specially extended implant - up to 50mm compared to with 10 to 15mm for normal implants. It can be screwed into the cheek bone rather than the jaw bone. The patient first undergoes a 3D scan of the jaw so the implant can be guided in without the need for surgery. The procedure is potentially quicker than the three or more appointments it takes to fit a denture and the implants are as strong as real teeth. Tests have found then 95% successful. The new technology could be available within the next few months.
Implants are becoming more commonplace and thousands of people have chosen to have them. The benefits were shown in a study comparing people with a lower set of implants to those who had a lower set of dentures. Those with implants had a better quality of life. Implants are the gold standard for the replacement of missing teeth they help retain the bone and structure of the face, but the cost remains a major hurdle and cost around $4000 each compared to dentures at a cost of around $400.
Another future alternative to dentures is to grow new teeth using stem cells. Stem cells can be used to grow different types of specialized tissue. The idea is that an immature made from stem cells in the laboratory would be inserted into the space in the gum and a new tooth would grow. The technology could be on the market in ten to twelve years.
Tags: Cells, Cheeks, Dentures, Fitting, Ill, Sores, Teeth, Implants, Mouth, Replacement, Shrunken, Stem
