Many factors contribute to teeth loss, for example, jaw injury, periodontal disease, or tooth extraction due to a cavity. It is important to seek replacement treatments for your missing teeth to prevent the risk of subsequent jaw and gum tissue loss that may affect the integrity of surrounding teeth. Esther Oluwo DDS may recommend partial or complete dentures to replace missing teeth and surrounding tissues.
What are the different types of dentures?
There are different types of removable replacements for your teeth and surrounding tissues. Collaborating with a certified specialist is important to receive the fitting dentures for your condition. The following are the main types of dentures:
- Complete Dentures
These replacements are beneficial when all your teeth are missing. Your doctor will recommend immediate dentures after tooth extraction and complete gum tissue healing. Conventional dentures require application at least two months after tooth loss.
Immediate dentures ensure you do not stay without teeth during the healing period. However, underlying bones and gums shrink over time, necessitating adjustments to your immediate dentures to ensure a snug fit. Therefore, immediate dentures offer a temporary solution to tooth loss until you get conventional dentures.
- Partial Dentures
Your doctor will recommend a removable partial denture or bridge if you have one or more teeth remaining in the upper or lower jaw. These applications involve replacement teeth on a plastic base with a metal framework to support the denture in the mouth.
Your doctor will recommend a fixed bridge for your missing teeth and placing crowns on the teeth neighboring the space left before attaching artificial teeth and cementing them into place.
Partial dentures prevent teeth from changing position due to loss. Consider getting a precision partial denture that is removable for your missing teeth to achieve a more natural look due to the internal attachments that seamlessly connect to adjacent crowns.
The reason you need dental implants for your dentures
Your doctor may insert dental implants to support cemented bridges. However, combining dental implants and dentures ensures a natural feel too artificial teeth. Moreover, dental implants offer stability to dentures. However, you need to be a candidate for dental implants to receive them. Talk to your dentist for advice about your candidacy for implants.
What is the procedure for making dentures?
It takes several weeks and appointments to develop dentures. This process requires patient-centeredness to ensure you achieve fitting dentures. Your dentist will take impressions of your jaw to understand how your teeth fit and use wax or plastic to create patterns of the shape and position of your dentures. You will fit these models to assess the color, shape, and fit and make necessary adjustments before making the final dentures.
It will take the muscles of your cheeks and tongue a few weeks to adjust to new dentures. Therefore, expect to feel odd when wearing your dentures in the beginning. Some patients also report mild irritation, soreness, and saliva increase due to their new dentures. Fortunately, these problems will resolve as your mouth adjusts to your dentures.
Contact TLN Family Dental to get fitting dentures to enhance your smile and improve your facial appearance.
