Dental implants are a great technology that allow us to restore full function to people who have lost one or more teeth. But the dental implant only replaces part of the natural tooth, the tooth root. The visible and functional part of the tooth has to be replaced by a restoration, such as a dental crown, or, if more than one tooth has been lost, a denture.
Hybrid implant dentures allow for the best restoration of function. These dentures are strongly connected to the dental implants with screws, ensuring that they can deliver the maximum bite force and allowing people to enjoy the ability to bite and chew normally again. Unfortunately, traditional denture materials, such as polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) are just not strong enough to hold up under the force of regular chewing.
But no worry: we offer durable Prettau bridges that are made of advanced zirconia ceramics, which can stand up to the challenges of chewing.
Chipping, Cracking and Scratching
One of the common problems people experience with hybrid dentures made out of acrylic is chipping and scratching. Dental implants allow you to bite with full force. Unfortunately, the force of biting, combined with the abrasiveness of foods and even toothpaste can contribute to the chipping, cracking, and scratching of acrylic dentures.
When chips come off the denture, it can become much less attractive. Chips may be noticeable right away, but cracks and scratches may escape notice at first. They won’t for long, though, as these smaller instances of damage create places where plaque and food residue can accumulate. This contributes to common problems such as discoloration of the denture, denture smells, and even gum disease.
But Prettau implant bridges are resistant to chipping, cracking, and scratching. They can avoid stains, retain their beautiful appearance, and promote good oral health for much longer than acrylic dentures.
Broken dentures are an accepted part of wearing dentures. With traditional dentures, the denture can rock in the mouth from side to side and if you put force down on both sides of the mouth, the denture can snap like an old-fashioned popsicle. And then there’s the fact that it’s easy to drop dentures while cleaning them, which is likely to break acrylic dentures.
But a hybrid denture shouldn’t have this problem, right? Dental implants should keep dentures from rocking and balance the forces. Plus, you won’t be removing your dentures for cleaning. But the truth is that acrylic dentures are just prone to fractures. In one study, acrylic dentures were shown to last just over 8 years.
Tooth Wear, Fracture, and Debonding
The teeth in a denture are highly vulnerable to the forces of your bite. Being subjected to the daily force of biting and chewing, acrylic denture teeth can be worn down. In one study, 18% of denture wearers had to have their denture teeth completely replaced because of wear. The teeth wore out in as little as five years, and two patients had to have their teeth replaced twice over a 12-year period.
Acrylic teeth are just as prone to fracture as the denture base, and this is a common complication of hybrid dentures.
To try to avoid the problems of wear and fracture for acrylic teeth, some high-end dentures offer ceramic teeth. These are certainly more durable than acrylic teeth, but they have a weakness: they have to be bonded to the denture base, and that bonding can commonly come loose.
But in Prettau Bridges, the teeth like the denture itself are made of zirconia ceramic. They won’t fracture, debond, or wear down. They are designed for durability.
Invest in Implant Dentures That Last
Implant dentures justify their cost by their long durability. The implants themselves will likely last you a lifetime, but what about the denture? If you get an acrylic denture, you are looking for multiple replacements in the future, and possibly many more repairs. But with Prettau implant bridges, you have a denture that is designed to last as long as the implants themselves.