Dentures or Implants?

When a patient has lost all of his teeth, he basically has two options, to get dentures or to get implants.

The answer is simple. Implants are the better choice in patients who are relatively healthy. Implants offer more benefits than dentures in the long run. However, in a few cases, the reverse is true. For comparison purposes, here are the advantages and disadvantages of dentures and implants:

Dentures

Pros:

• They're cheaper than implants
• They're simple to use
• They don't require surgery
• They require less visits to the dentist and less waiting time than implants

Cons:

• They are removable
• They might cause embarrassment if a patient has to take them out in public for some reason
• They don't feel as natural as implants

Implants

Pros:

• They are very stable
• They have the full strength of the jaw
• They are fixed
• They require little care
• They feel almost like natural teeth

Cons:

• They require one or two surgeries
  In a few rare cases, they may require a hospital-based surgery to get bone from the hip and transplant it to your jawbone
  The procedure takes a few months
  They are expensive
  Some conditions, like diabetes, might prevent you from getting them

You may have notices that all factors in these lists are health related, except for the cost. Unfortunately,  implants are expensive and when several ones are required, the cost makes them unavailable to many American patients. This is why they cross the border into Mexico. They can get here the implants they need at prices they can actually afford. They don't have to settle for small-clinics either, not that there's anything wrong with them. They can go to the best institutions and pay for the plane ticket and hotel and it would still be cheaper than having the treatment in the USA.

--

Robert Ervin is a freelancer who writes about healthcare, medical tourism, and living in Mexico.

If you're considering traveling to Mexico for healthcare or retiring in Mexico, you may want to get yourself a copy of The English's Speaker's Guide to Doctors and Hospitals in Mexico, in order to find a good doctor or hospital in the main towns and cities of Mexico, or The English Speaker's Guide to Medical Care in Mexico, to understand how the Mexican healthcare system works.