Hybrid Dentures

What is a Fixed Hybrid Denture?

A fixed hybrid denture combines a removable denture and a set of dental implants.

These dentures are called hybrids because they are both fixed and removable. They’re fixed as far as everyday life is concerned and won’t be affected by eating or talking. However, they can be removed if necessary by a dental professional.

Hybrid dentures are held in place by dental implants, usually four or six per jaw. For this reason, they’re also referred to as All-on-4® or All-On-6® dentures.

Like all dentures, hybrid dentures are dental prostheses intended for people with missing natural teeth. They have some clear advantages as well as some drawbacks (mainly the cost).

Pros and Cons of Hybrid Dentures

As with any type of denture, hybrid dentures have pros and cons.

Pros of Hybrid Dentures

Hybrid dentures:

• Are a permanent solution (dental implants are meant to last a lifetime)
• Won’t cause soreness or pain like fully removable dentures can
• Won’t slip out of place
• Can still be removed by your dentist if needed for cleaning or other reasons
• Don’t cover your whole mouth, so a portion of your gums and the roof of your mouth are uncovered, allowing you to taste food more normally 
• Help prevent the continual bone loss that can occur with regular dentures

Cons of Hybrid Dentures

On the other hand, hybrid dentures:

• Require oral surgery (which may include multiple implant procedures)
• Have a placement and recovery process that may take months
• Can get food particles caught underneath them, making oral hygiene at home difficult
• Can be very expensive, costing tens of thousands of dollars in many cases
• Aren’t likely to be covered by insurance
• May not be an option if you have lost too much jawbone tissue or have certain medical conditions 

How Much Do Hybrid Dentures Cost?

The exact cost of fixed partial dentures can vary widely based on your specific situation and location.

You can expect to pay between $15,000 to over $40,000.

Each implant may cost $1,500 or more, and the total price will reflect four to six implants plus the prosthetic teeth.

Insurance Coverage

Many insurance providers don’t consider implants to be medically necessary. This means they won’t provide coverage. However, some insurance companies do provide partial coverage for implants.

Check with your provider to confirm what is and isn’t covered.

Overdentures vs. Hybrid Dentures

An overdenture is a set of replacement teeth supported by either implants or remaining natural teeth.

The denture goes over something else for support, hence the term overdenture. Traditional dentures don’t have this support. They are attached using support from natural tissues and/or an oral adhesive.

Hybrid dentures are a type of overdenture. Other kinds of overdentures include:

• Snap-in dentures, which are easier to remove at home 
• Ball-retained or bar-retained dentures, which use ball- or bar-shaped prosthetics to connect to a set of implants
• Tooth-supported dentures, which use the roots of some of your real teeth

All of these can be considered permanent dentures, and they can replace some or all of a person’s teeth. Talk with your dentist to better understand these options and how they might apply to your specific situation.

Complete Dentures vs. Hybrid Dentures

If your mouth is at or near the point of being edentulous (without any teeth), you may also consider traditional complete dentures.

Complete or full dentures take up more of your mouth than hybrid dentures. They generally cover the hard part of your palate. This is because they aren’t supported by implants, so they need support from the roof of your mouth.

As a result, complete dentures come with the following disadvantages when compared to hybrid or permanent dentures:

• They can be bulky and uncomfortable
• They don’t prevent bone loss
• They’ll need to be changed and adjusted every so often, making them less reliable as a permanent solution

Conventional dentures have two major advantages: they are significantly less expensive and don’t require implant surgery. Whether these advantages outweigh the drawbacks is something only you and your dentist can determine.

Summary

Hybrid dentures offer some of the benefits of both removable dentures and dental implants. They can only be removed by a dentist and won’t slip out of place when eating or talking.

Unfortunately, hybrid dentures can be very expensive, mainly due to the cost of dental implants. Insurance generally doesn’t cover implants, though some providers offer partial coverage.

If you’re missing many or all of your teeth, talk to your dentist about the pros and cons of hybrid dentures. They can help you decide what’s right for you.