It won't be a surprise to learn that an implant-supported denture is supported by, and attached to, a dental implant. Here is a little more from our Surrey dentist on how implant supported dentures work.
What are dentures?
Dentures are dental prosthetics that replace missing teeth. Usually dentures are supported by the soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity, and are removable.
What are dental implants?
Dental implants act as replacements for the roots of missing teeth. They are tiny titanium rods that are implanted into the jaw bone where the missing tooth's root would have been. Dental implants can be capped with a crown to create a permanent and natural looking replacement for a missing tooth. The real benefit of dental implants is that they look and feel very much like natural teeth do.
How do dentures and dental implants work together?
As we've already mentioned, a regular denture rests on the gums, no implants are required. Implant-supported dentures are a good option for people who don't have any teeth in the jaw, but have enough bone in the jaw to support implants.
Implant-supported dentures are held in place by special attachments that snap onto corresponding attachments on the implants.
This makes implant-supported dentures very secure and particularly good for the lower jaw, because regular dentures tend to be less stable there. That said, you can get an implant-supported dentures for the upper jaw also.