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It’s an all too familiar fact that lower dentures tend to move around a lot. It’s estimated that almost half the people with lower dentures don’t even wear them. Even well fitting dentures can have this problem. The reason is the shape of the lower ridge on which the denture sits.

 

Upper dentures have much fewer problems because the roof of the mouth provides a firm, broad area for the denture to rest on. Lower dentures don’t have that advantage. There is only a horse-shoe shaped ridge to support the denture. With the tongue and lips moving around, that is just not enough support for many dentures. Add the fact that the ridge becomes shallower over time since the teeth were removed – what you get is a lower denture that just does not stay in place when it should.

 

We have found that the best way to stabilize a lower denture is with mini implants. Mini implants give the denture something to ‘snap’ onto. When the denture snaps in place, it stays put when eating and speaking. They are placed in one visit. The snap-type attachment is placed in the denture at the same time. At the end of that appointment, you can go out for lunch.

 

The fee for placing 4-5 mini implants (depending on how much room is available in the ridge) and retro-fitting your existing denture is $2995. This is a big advantage over traditional implants which are more costly and require a 3-6 month healing period before they can be utilized. If you would like to discuss this further, please feel free to call the office for a consultation appointment

 

Yours in Health,

Dr. Bill Greenberg

 

Four mini implants on plastic model

Underside of denture showing attachments