The field of medicine has greatly improved – from heart surgeries to prosthetics; the number of things that can be done to cure a disorder or an illness are almost endless. Inside this field of medicine, the field of dental orthopaedics, or also known as orthodontia, is the field that specializes in the care of teeth and fixing any irregularities and has equally since vast improvements. The loss or the breaking of a part of the tooth in the past was something unfixable; but nowadays, it has become something that is easily fixed or replaced.
For example, when you lose your tooth (or teeth!) Because of an accident, old age, disease, decay or any other reason, you can opt either for dentures or for dental implants. The former, also known as a dental plate, is the fake set of teeth you often see old people in cartoons spit out; the latter is literally drilling teeth-shaped metal into your jaw to act as replacement for your teeth (sounds gruesome, right? It actually is not though).
Dental plates are very common – contrary to what you believe, they don’t include your whole set of teeth, but can also be made for only a few missing teeth: in the former case, they are known as full dental plates, whereas they are known as partial dental plates in the latter case. Dental plates are made specifically for each patient – the orthodontist takes an impression of your mouth and jaws, based on which your plates are made from porcelain, plastic and a number of other materials.
If you instead go for dental implants, you will be free of the many maintenance processes dental plates have, such as denture relining, rebasing or remaking that providing a good set of false teeth. As mentioned before, dental implants are actually metallic: titanium alloys which are not harmful to your body in any way. They are drilled into your jaw – but the process does not hurt because patients are properly given anaesthetics – after which they will directly fuse with your jawbones (just like your average teeth) in four to six months.
Some people do not like dental plates because they can move (this actually only happens to a small percentage of people who wear plates though) or because they make clicking sounds; some also claim they are uncomfortable in general. Furthermore, there is one very clear disadvantage – you cannot chew hard foods. These disadvantages are absent in dental implants; however, dental implants have downsides too. They are expensive for one, and take time to fuse with your bones. Furthermore, for people who are afraid of surgeries of the invasive type, dental implants are definitely terrifying! As such, both dental implants and plates have downsides and good sides to them – you should just pick the one you like!