Today's Mini Dental Implants Great For Holding Your Dentures In Place

By Celeste Balino, DDS

Minimal (mini) dental implants, and larger implants, have become such an important part of dentistry I feel it's important for people to learn about them.

In the early 1980's, a group of practitioners were looking for a less expensive way to stabilize lower removable dentures, and the concept of mini-dental implants came from that need.

A member of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry, Dr. Victor Sendax of New York, is credited with conceptualizing the procedure. Two principal advantages of mini-implants is that the procedure is easier and can be less expensive.

The mini-implant works best in the front of the lower jaw, replacing your front bottom teeth. High stress areas, where chewing forces are greater, would probably require a larger, heavier duty implant.

The bone in the upper jaw is “soft.” It is 5-10 times weaker when compared to the lower jaw. A second consideration is the resultant chewing force angle. Because of the design of the upper jaw, normal chewing force and a 30-degree angle, the force is increased by 50%. That's a lot of stress and requires more structure to support an implant.

Overall, the dental implant research shows that due to the anatomy and direction of chewing forces, mini-implants may not work in the upper jaw. To compensate for the higher stress and softer bone in the upper arch, most implantologists will use larger implants and support the implant with additional structure, which can be added at the same time.

The dental profession also has a number of certifying organizations, including, the American Board of Implantology or and the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. Being board certified or board eligible is a distinction offered by these organizations.

Implants can be very valuable and even life changing. If you have lost teeth, dentures, or bridges, you owe it to yourself to talk to an implantologist, or your regular dentist today.