Can I Get Dental Implants After Years In Dentures?
Posted by writeradmin
I’ve been in dentures for a little over ten years. I’d really like to get dental implants but am worried that I’ve waited too long. Is it too late to get them after this long in dentures. I’ve heard there’s a problem after a while and you can’t just switch, but no one really told me how long that “while” is.
Claudia
Dear Claudia,
Technically, it is never too late to have dental implants placed. However, you start losing bone structure from the moment your teeth are removed. The longer you are in dentures, the more bone you lose. The problem with that is that in order for you to retain your dental implants you need enough bone structure.
What you would need to do is have some bone grafting done in order to build back up that lost bone structure. Then, once the bone grafting is healed up, you can have the dental implants placed and get implant supported dentures. In some cases, if there isn’t too much bone loss you can have all-on-4 dental implants placed which would allow you to have the procedure done without any bone grafting.
However, because your teeth have been out for about ten years, it is most likely that you will have lost too much bone and the grafting will be absolutely necessary. Your dentist can do diagnostics to determine what your best options are.
The key will be picking the right dentist to do your implants. This is quite an advanced procedure and you would need someone with advanced post-doctoral training in the dental implant procedure.
Look for someone who has training in one of the following institutions:
- The Dawson Academy
- The Pankey Institute
- The Las Vegas Institute for Advanced Dental Studies
Any one of these institutions will have the training someone would need to do a fine job with your implant procedure.
This blog is brought to you by Arnold, MD Dentist Dr. Meredith Esposito.