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Reasons Short Dental Implants May Be Used To Secure Your Dentures

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If you are planning to have dentures installed, you may also need to undergo a procedure to have dental implants placed. Traditional dentures do not require dental implants for stabilization. Instead, they are held in place by the natural suction of your mouth. However, because dentures can still sometimes slip or move from position as you eat or speak, you may prefer the stabilization that is provided by an implant-supported denture.

If you have been missing all of the teeth in your upper and lower palate for an extended period, your jawbone may have atrophied. The jawbone's density is sustained by the regular bite pressure that occurs when you eat or chew. The bite pressure is transferred to the jawbone by the teeth that are secured within the bone. However, once the teeth are lost or missing, there is no stimulation offered to the bone at that site, and the bone starts to lose mass.

If your jawbone does not have sufficient thickness to allow the installation of a standard dental implant to support your dentures, short dental implants may be used. Here are a few reasons why:

The short dental implants don't require as much jawbone for installation.

A standard dental implant is longer, so it requires more bone mass for installation. If a standard implant is installed into a jawbone of insufficient density, the implant may not be held in place sufficiently to secure a denture.

A short dental implant is not positioned as deeply into the jawbone, but it still provides great support and stabilization for a denture.

A short dental implant is less likely to cause trauma to the nerves within your upper or lower jaw.

With a reduction in jawbone density, nerves positioned just above the site of dental roots in the upper jaw or below the normal location of dental roots in the lower jaw may be more easily accessed by a standard dental implant. This can cause the implant to incite damage that could result in serious nerve problems. In some cases, even facial paralysis could result.

Since a short dental implant does not reach as deeply into the bone, it can be less likely to damage nerves, and it can prevent the need to relocate nerves before starting the implantation procedure to secure your dentures.

To learn more about the types of dental implants that can be used to keep your dentures in position, schedule an appointment with a dentist in your area. Contact a business, such as Benjamin D Hull DDS, for more information. 


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