Once more than one or two teeth are missing, you have to choose a type of prosthesis. The decision affects both daily comfort and what happens to the jawbone over the next ten years. The price gap between removable and implant-supported solutions is large, so it is worth understanding exactly what you are paying for.
Removable dentures and prices
- Full denture — from €500. For a whole jaw, resting on gum and palate.
- Partial acrylic denture, hard base — from €400. When some teeth remain.
- Partial acrylic denture, soft base — from €600. More comfortable, suits a sensitive gum.
- Cobalt-chrome (skeletal) denture — from €850. On a metal framework, thinner and stronger than acrylic, covers less of the palate.
- Metal reinforcement for an acrylic denture €25, adding a tooth €20, repairing a fracture €20.
Fixed solutions
- Crown or bridge. A crown from €450. A three-unit bridge means three crowns and grinding down the neighbouring teeth.
- Implant plus crown. Surgery from €600, healing abutment €100, crown from €550 — about €1,250 per tooth.
- All-on-4 / 5 / 6. A whole jaw on four to six implants: from €8,000 / €9,750 / €11,500.
The main difference is not comfort — it is bone
A removable denture rests on the gum. A jawbone that gets no load from chewing begins to recede — the same process as a muscle that is not used. Over the years the ridge under the denture becomes lower, the denture starts to move and needs relining or remaking. An implant carries load like a tooth root and slows this considerably.
This is also why replacing a long-worn full denture with implants later is harder — there is less bone by then.
Who each option suits
- Removable denture — when the budget is limited, health does not allow surgery, or a quick temporary solution is needed.
- Bridge — when the neighbouring teeth need crowning anyway.
- Single implant — when one tooth is missing and its neighbours are sound. A bridge would require grinding them down; an implant would not.
- All-on-X — an edentulous jaw where a fixed solution without a palatal plate is wanted.
- Implant overdenture — the in-between option: removable, but anchored to implants so it does not move.
Adapting to a removable denture
The first weeks are always an adjustment: increased salivation, speech changes and pressure points are common. Pressure points are normal and are adjusted at a visit — you should never tolerate pain with a denture, because constant pressure damages the gum. Start with soft food and small mouthfuls.
Care
- Clean a removable denture after every meal and take it out at night.
- Remaining natural teeth need ordinary care — plaque builds up quickly under a partial denture’s clasps.
- An implant-supported prosthesis needs an interdental brush or water flosser and an annual check-up.
Which solution your bone volume and budget allow becomes clear at an examination and 3D scan. Book a consultation at Unidenta in Tallinn.