Facts on Dentures

A reality for all of us is that at some point in life we may need to replace a few teeth. Here are a few facts on dentures to understand the process.

While proper dental hygiene can protect teeth and gums for a long time, for many patients tooth loss is a fact of life that they must address as they age. Whether the cause is physical trauma or poor dental care, some people will need to consider replacing their teeth with man made alternatives. While some patients will choose implants or bridges, patients with a number of missing teeth may consider full or partial dentures.

For patients with limited tooth loss, partial dentures are typically a removable bridge consisting of 2 or more fake teeth attached to a pink plastic base. The base often has a metal wire to assist in holding the denture in place in the mouth. Partial dentures work for patients that have remaining natural teeth that can help anchor the denture in place – while the denture is removable, the natural teeth help hold it in position while performing natural day to day activities such as eating and talking.

For patients with more severe tooth loss, full dentures are one of the best restorative dental procedures. Typically fitted 8-12 weeks after the teeth are removed from the gums, full conventional dentures are fitted to the mouth after the gums have been allowed to heal. The resulting dentures provide a full, complete smile for the patient in their day to day lives, allowing them to eat and drink as if they have full natural teeth.

While dentures typically require some adjustment – the patient will need to practice eating, and may speak slightly differently while they adjust to their new teeth – dentists work to ensure that they match existing teeth as closely as possible. Dentures will be custom molded to the patient’s mouth, and adjustments will be made after they’re created to ensure that they do not irritate the patient, and that eating and speaking is as natural as possible. The end result should be that properly fitting dentures offer the patient a natural feeling solution to tooth loss.

If you’re interested in learning more facts on dentures as well as specifics on partial or complete dentures, contact our office today.

Call Dr. Graham E. Farless DDS today for more information on dentures, 336-282-2868.