Placement of 6 Mini Dental Implants in Upper Gums to Stabilize Dentures: Good Idea?

Question

My dentist has suggested mini dental implants to stabilize my denture. I have a strong bite and the upper denture, even with strong powder adhesive, tends to separate in the rear of the palate, when I bite down, like into a sandwich.  It was suggested to have six mini implants placed in the gum. I was given a paper to sign and reading it, scared me. I thought that with my strong bite that if  i would bite down, on say a bone, and the implants were not perfectly aligned that I could break or dislocate one of the implants. Should I be worried about this?

Comments

I have been working with mini implants for many years(as long as they exist).In the lower gum I had patients ,where it worked well for many years.In the upper gum,you must have a very good bone quality,plus there is still a sinus.Ask for a second opinion.

Answer 1

Destabilizing an upper denture by biting with the front teeth is a common occurrence and dentists counsel their denture patients not to do that.
Also denture wearers have to learn to bite differently than when they had natural teeth if they want to keep the dentures in place(biting in the back teeth on both sides at the same time).
Finally denture wearers are discouraged about biting hard things such as a bone.
Mini implants are getting more popular and dentists are placing them in areas that have poorer or softer bone such as the upper jaw.  If you have a strong bite you may put more forces on the implants than the bone can take and some may get loose and fail, especially since mini implants are placed into function immediately.
A safer approach might be regular implants submerged under the gums until they fuse to the bone and then you can use them to help hold the denture.
You may also use less implants this way.
Talk to your dentist about your options.
Good luck!

Dr. Carlos Boudet
West Palm Beach , FL
(561) 968 6022
boudetdds.com

Answer 2

There is a place for mini implants in people with less demanding occlusal forces and softer diets. I recommend "real implants" since they are more flexible in the stronger attachments that can be used to connect the prosthesis, stronger in there integration with bone and resisting forces of occlusion. Conventional implants are more likely to give you many years of service.