Dentures and Dental Implants

Advanced Options for Your Denture Needs

How Missing Teeth Affect Your Smile, Your Health, and Your Outlook 

According to recent statistics, it's estimated that across the country, over 175 million adults have lost at least one tooth, and close to 40 million are missing all of their teeth. In most of these cases, tooth loss is the end result of extensive dental decay, advanced gum disease, a traumatic injury, a congenital anomaly, or associated with a medical condition.

In addition to the psychological and social consequences having embarrassing gaps in your smile often produce, missing teeth can affect your ability to speak clearly and eat a satisfying and nutritious diet. Left unaddressed, missing teeth can also cause gradual changes to your appearance and the alignment of your remaining teeth. These changes not only affect your bite, but they have the potential to create more unsightly and unhealthy gaps in your smile. Furthermore, without the support of a complete set of teeth, facial contours may also begin to look more sagged and haggard over time. 

While it's never too late to rebuild a complete and beautiful smile, it's always best to replace missing teeth sooner than later. Both partial and full dentures offer an effective and satisfying solution for reestablishing a complete smile.

What Are Dentures?

Dentures are removable appliances that are designed to precisely and comfortably rest on top of the gums that cover the jawbones. They consist of natural-looking artificial teeth set in a supportive base. In addition to offering a cost-effective solution for the replacement of missing teeth, dentures are quite versatile. They can be used to replace either a few teeth that have been lost or all of the teeth in the upper or lower jaws.

While conventional bridgework and dental implants offer fixed solutions for rebuilding complete smiles, partial and full dentures are removable oral appliances. This statement means it's possible to take dentures out of the mouth to clean and maintain the health of the underlying tissues and any remaining teeth, as well as clean the dentures themselves, or remove them while sleeping. 

Types of Dentures

You can rest assured that rebuilding your smile is in the best of hands at our office. As a skilled and experienced provider of care, we'll carefully evaluate all aspects of your smile, the health and integrity of any remaining teeth, along with the surrounding tissues and the supporting bone to develop a treatment plan that satisfies the functional and aesthetic requirements of your case.

The two main types of removable dentures are full dentures and partial dentures. Which of these types offers the best solution for your smile depends on how many natural teeth are still present in your mouth and the health of these remaining teeth. While a partial denture can offer an effective solution in cases where some sturdy natural teeth remain, you may be a candidate for a complete denture when all the upper or lower teeth are missing or require extraction.

Full Dentures 

Full dentures, also known as complete dentures, can effectively replace all the upper teeth, lower teeth, or both the upper and lower teeth. As with other types of dental solutions, there's no one-size-fits-all approach for every case. The ultimate design, fabrication, and insertion of a full denture can vary based upon a patient's specific needs. 

Conventional Full Denture 

This type of denture is fabricated and placed after all of the remaining teeth are removed, and the surrounding tissues have adequately healed. Fabricating a full denture when healing is complete supports a precise and comfortable fit.

• Immediate Denture
  With an immediate denture, a patient does not have to go without teeth while waiting for complete healing of the extraction sites. Although an immediate denture offers the advantage of not having to go without teeth for any length of time, it can require a reline and adjustments as the tissues remodel and heal. In some cases, for optimal comfort and fit, a conventional denture may eventually be required. 
• Overdenture
  An overdenture is a type of complete denture that receives added stability and support from special attachments that are secured to the remaining underlying teeth or specialized dental implants. 
• Implant-Supported Dentures
  As the name implies, this type of denture attaches to a select number of strategically placed implants in the upper or lower jaw. These small surgical posts provide precise points of attachment for the overlying denture and add a significant measure of stability and retention.

Partial Dentures 

In situations where some sturdy teeth remain, partial dentures can offer an effective solution for the replacement of missing teeth. Partial dentures typically achieve adequate retention and stability with clasps or precision attachments on the teeth adjacent to the edentulous areas (the spaces formerly occupied by the missing teeth).

Removable partial dentures can fill the void left by individual missing teeth and multiple ones to restore the look and function of a complete smile. At the same time a partial denture fills the gaps left by missing teeth; it also stabilizes the dentition and bite and prevents unwanted drifting of the remaining natural teeth.

As with full dentures, partial denture design and fabrication varies based on a patient's specific needs. With advances in dental materials and technology, partial denture wearers have more options than ever before. Today, a partial denture's supportive framework can be fabricated from various materials, inducting cast metal and hybrid materials.

We are dedicated to building healthy and beautiful smiles. As your trusted partner in care, you can depend on our office to design and fabricate a denture that will look good, fit comfortably, and serve you well for years to come.

Providing Integrated Solutions to Rebuild Smiles

What to Expect When You Receive Your New Denture

Speaking With Ease

While it may seem challenging to speak clearly at first with a new denture, that feeling will pass within a few days. It's important to keep talking, as usual, to allow yourself to adapt to your new set of teeth. You can help things along by reading some passages from printed materials or a computer out loud.

Getting Used to Eating With a Denture

If this is your first denture, it can also take some time to adapt to eating with your new prosthesis. Getting used to eating with a full denture is typically more challenging than doing so with a partial denture. It's best to start with soft foods and to avoid chewing on just one side. Your tongue, lips, cheeks, and soft tissues will soon adapt to chewing with your new denture, and from then on, you'll be able to eat with ease.

Taking Care of Your Dentures

• It's essential to keep your denture clean! Rinse your dentures after eating and brush them daily. In this way, you can prevent stains and bacteria from accumulating on your new set of teeth. It helps to use a brush designed for dentures. Also, remember to soak your dentures in water when you're not wearing them and at least once a week in the recommended denture cleaner. 
• Brush any remaining teeth as well as your gums to keep them clean and the tissues healthy and firm. If you wear an upper denture, rinse and gently clean the roof of your mouth as well.
• Take your dentures out at bedtime. This practice gives the gums and the jawbone a chance to rest, helping to prevent irritation and infection as well as bone resorption (shrinkage). 

Added Stability

Due to the status of the underlying tissues and other factors, there are some cases where full dentures benefit from additional means of retention. While denture adhesive is often sufficient, full dentures that are implant-supported or clip onto special attachments offer added stability and retention.

Follow-up Care

Maintaining oral health and overall well-being involves routine checkups and care. At these visits, we not only check the fit and condition of your dentures but we also perform a comprehensive exam to check the status of any remaining teeth as well as assess the health of all of the soft and hard tissues in and around the oral cavity.

Relines

Over time, the tissues supporting the denture can change. As the shape and contours of these tissues shrink or remodel, your denture may not fit as comfortably or feel as stable as it once did. A separate procedure, which is known as a reline, may be recommended.

We are dedicated to providing the highest quality of care. If you have any additional questions or concerns about your new dentures, feel free to contact our office.