Can a Dental School Do Dental Implants
Posted by writeradmin
I hate my dentures. It is so hard to eat with them. I honestly do better eating with them out than in. Is there a chance that a dental school would do dental implants at a discount. They’re pretty expensive and I’d like them but can’t afford full price. If that is not possible, can I get better fitting dentures there?
Lizzie
Dear Lizzie,
You are not alone in hating your dentures. Even the best fitting dentures will reduce your chewing capacity by 50%. Dental implants are a great solution for that because it anchors your dentures to your jawbone. It’s the best tooth replacement and the closest thing to having healthy, natural teeth again.
Dental schools do take patients. In fact, they need them in order to instruct their students. You will get a discount for having your work done there. This is to make up for the fact that you are being worked on by a student. Because they’re being instructed and their work is being overseen, the appointments take a longer than an appointment at a traditional office. That’s the main trade off. In general though, the work is good.
All dental schools teach dentures, but very few teach dental implants. That is left for specialized institutions for dentists to learn post-doctorally if they want to offer that service. You can try those institutions. They would need patients as well. These institutions are not in every state, but it’s worth looking into.
In all honesty, it is best to get dental implants even if you have to save up. I don’t know if your dentist warned you about the repercussions of wearing completely removable dentures for an extended period of time, but I’ll tell you now just in case.
When your teeth were removed, your body recognized that you no longer had any teeth roots. Because of that, your body begins to resorb the minerals in your jawbone to use them elsewhere. This slowly shrinks your jawbone. After ten or so years, you will no longer have enough of your jawbone left to retain your dentures. This is known as facial collapse. Having dental implants placed signals to your body that you have teeth roots and will need your jawbone to help retain those teeth.
This blog is brought to you by a gentle dentist in Mt Dora, Dr. Michelle Stillman.