Prostheses and dental implants. Main differences and functioning

Dental prostheses are devices that replace missing teeth, either individually, that is, a single tooth or the whole of the dentition.

What types of dentures are there?

Dental prostheses can be of two types: removable and fixed.

- Removable prostheses: the patient can and should remove them to sanitize them. They can be supported either on a natural tooth or on an implant.

- Fixed prostheses : these prostheses are those that the specialist in Dentistry cement or screw, and can not be removed by the patient. The cementation can be done on both a natural tooth and on the abutment of an implant.

What are the basic differences between a prosthesis and dental implants?

The terms prostheses and implants should not be mixed, since they are different concepts. The dental implant is the screw that is placed by surgery inside the maxillary bones to support the prosthesis, either removable or fixed - held or bolted on it - individual or multiple.

The prostheses on implants are the individual crowns or structures that lean on the implants and will replace the missing teeth, both in aesthetics as in function.

What is the most used, dentures or dental implants?

As a general rule, one is not used more than the other. In fact, they are complementary treatments in most cases.

The dento-supported prostheses - both fixed and removable - have been placed for many decades and have worked with more or less success.

Nowadays, the tendency, at least on our part, is to touch fewer teeth to place a fixed prosthesis and offer the patient the option of implants, since we only want to replace the edentulous area without having to alter more dental structures by subjecting them "without necessity "To root canals, carved ...