HOUSTON -- Embarrassment, trouble eating and sore spots are just some of the common complaints for those who wear dentures every day. But a Houston dentist is providing a new and improved solution that keeps them in place, without pain, Local 2 reported Wednesday.

Jean Duley now enjoys eating sandwiches again, for the first time in years.

"There are so many foods that I can eat now that I couldn't before," she said.

Dentures prevented her from eating a lot of foods and made her self-conscious.

"If I was around strangers, I didn't want to talk. I never knew, even with adhesive, if the top was going to drop down," she said.

All of that is behind her after Dr. Joe Carrick, with the Texas Center for Cosmetic Dentistry and Spa, placed surgical implants in her mouth.

The implants act like artificial tooth roots. It takes about an hour to implant the screws while patients receive pain medication.

"It's a threaded titanium screw, but it's not screwed into the bone. It's placed in the bone and the bone grows into those threads," Carrick said.

"There was pain involved, but not that much in the actual surgery," Duley said.

Carrick took the dentures Duley already had, drilled out holes and placed an attachment in the dentures so they could snap on to implants.

"If we can get four implants in, then it stabilizes the denture," Carrick said.

The implants have made a big difference in Duley's life.

"When I go out to the grocery store, or anything, I find myself making conversation," she said.

She's no longer afraid her dentures will slip or ruin her smile.

'They have just been a lifesaver for me," Duley said.

Implants need to be taken care of just like teeth -- brushed daily.

The cost of implants runs from $500 to $1,000.

It's not covered by insurance.

For more information, visit www.texascenterforcosmeticdentistry.com or call (281) 367-6465.