Dental Implants Have Come a Long Way
Although the ancient Mayans of present-day Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras actually developed dental implants using carved sea shells some 1400 years ago, modern dental implants have only been in common use for the past three decades or so.
Dentures on the other hand have been used for perhaps 7,000 years; archaeologists have found evidence of “false teeth” (sometimes made from the real teeth of dead people) among the ancient Etruscans whose culture in Italy predated the Romans. Some form of dentures have been used in most places in the world through most of recorded history.
As almost anyone who has had to wear them will tell you, dentures are virtually always uncomfortable; even the best-trained prosthodontist in the world cannot make dentures fit and feel like one’s natural teeth. Dentures ultimately become loose-fitting as gum tissue shrinks with age; partial dentures require painful metal clasps fastened to natural teeth that plays havoc with the surface of the enamel; gum and mouth sores are common, speech can be affected and dental adhesives used to fix dentures in place can be messy and unpleasant.
With recent advances in dental technology, dental implants have become the most viable solution for those whose teeth have been lost to neglect, disease or injury.
The only advantage dentures have over dental implants is cost; compared to dental implants, dentures are relatively cheap and can be made in a very short amount of time. Unfortunately, a person’s gums change as s/he ages; these changes mean that dentures must be replaced periodically.
Despite their relatively high cost, dental implants are a far superior solution; because they ultimately fuse with the bone tissue underlying the gums, they feel virtually indistinguishable from natural teeth. They are also much more natural looking; only a professional dentist can tell the difference between an implant and the real thing. With careful attention to oral hygiene and in the absence of tobacco products, once they are in, dental implants can last for the rest of a person’s life.
