If you are missing most of your teeth, your dentist may recommend that you receive dentures. Learn more about the benefits, types, and wear of dentures here.
Benefits Of Dentures
Facial muscles can sag when you lose all of your teeth, making you look older. Dentures remedy this by restoring your smile. Additionally, missing teeth can cause difficulties with eating and talking, which dentures can make easy again.
Types Of Dentures
Depending on your mouth, your dentist may recommend different types of dentures such as:
- Conventional: this is a full, removable denture that is only used after the gum tissue and jaw bone have completed healing after tooth extraction (which can take several months).
- Immediate: This type of denture, like its name suggests, can be used immediately after remaining teeth have been extracted. However, it often needs to be refitted, or even remade, because the gums and jaw bone shrink after they heal.
- Overdenture: If some of your teeth can be saved, it is best to leave them in the mouth so they can support the jawbone. This type of denture fits over the teeth after they have been prepared to hold the denture.
- Removable Partial Denture: This is very similar to the overdenture by keeping remaining teeth in the mouth. The difference is that these teeth aren’t covered by the denture. They are usually covered by a crown that the denture can fasten to with a metal framework, clips, or precision attachments.
Wear Of Dentures
Your dentist will create the dentures based on impressions and measurements of your jaw and mouth. Once your receive dentures, there are some things you need to know about the wear of them:
- There is an adjustment period within the first few weeks of wearing dentures. They may feel awkward, cause soreness, create difficulties with talking and chewing, or increase saliva flow. However, once your mouth gets used to holding dentures, you should have no problems.
- Dentures need cleaning just like natural teeth do. Rinse them after eating (always using cold water), gently brush them once a day with a soft-bristle toothbrush and denture cleanser, and soak them in water overnight. Also gently brushing your gums to clean off plaque and stimulate blood flow.
- Without your teeth, your jaw bone will shrink overtime. This is why it is still important to continue check-ups with your dentist and to have your dentures changed about every 5 years.