4 Questions to Ask About Dental Dentures

Dentures are artificial dental appliances made from plastic, porcelain, or, more commonly and recently, a hard resin. When a patient loses several teeth, dentures are often used to replace those missing teeth and the surrounding tissues. As such, they contain both artificial teeth and gums that are custom-fitted to a patient’s mouth and visually match any of the patient’s remaining teeth and the color of their gums.

With that said dentures can either be complete or partial, depending on if the patient still has remaining healthy teeth or not. Complete or full dentures replace all of the patient’s natural teeth on the top or bottom gum line, while partial dentures replace a row of several teeth on the top or bottom gum line.

The best type of dentures depends on your dental needs and the results you hope to achieve with dentures. There are several different kinds of dentures to choose from you and your dentist can decide on which type is best for you. Some denture options that you may be qualified to choose from could include the following:

• Conventional or traditional dentures: complete conventional dentures are held in place through suction or an oral adhesive, whereas partial conventional dentures are fastened to the surrounding natural teeth. Both are very easy to clean and remove. Conventional dentures are typically put in place eight to 12 weeks after the teeth have been removed.

• Immediate dentures: immediate dentures are put in place on the same day that the teeth are extracted. The dentures are created before the teeth are extracted and are used during the healing process. Once the gums have completely healed, immediate dentures are replaced with permanent dentures.

• Implant-supported dentures: with this type of denture, implants or screws are inserted into the jaw to support the dentures in place securely. Implant-supported dentures are the most natural-feeling, natural-looking, and permanent denture options available. That said, they are more expensive and have a significant recovery period. Implant-supported dentures can either be fixed or removable.

• Overdentures: overdentures rest over the top of the patient’s natural teeth, the roots of those natural teeth, or dental implants.

While conventional dentures are less expensive and less invasive than implant-supported dentures or overdentures, they typically require more maintenance, do not last as long, and food sticks to them easier. In contrast, implant-supported dentures and overdentures are a more permanent solution, and eating with them is less challenging. Implant-supported dentures require that a patient has a sufficient amount of jawbone density and mass for the procedure to be safely completed.

Implant-supported dentures are anchored to implants or screws that are embedded in the jawbone. Once the implants or screws are embedded in place, and the jawbone has healed, the dentures will snap into an attachment on the top of the implant. When you have an appointment to install the dentures, your dentist can show you how to safely remove and attach the implants on your own for cleaning and other purposes.

Regardless of the type of dentures you choose, they can provide numerous benefits! Some of these benefits could include the following:

• Can be easily removed to quickly and thoroughly clean them
• Help with speech and pronunciation
• Increased self-esteem and confidence in your smile
• Comfortable and functional
• Most dental insurance plans cover dentures
• Support for your facial muscles

After an initial consultation has been conducted to ensure the patient can safely and effectively receive implant-supported dentures, the implant-supported denture procedure will occur in a three-part process.

In the first step of the process, any necessary extractions or bone grafting occurs to prepare the jaw and gumline for the implants.

The second step of the process involves installing the implants, which may take place anywhere from two to six months after the initial extraction to allow the area to heal.

After the implants are installed, it will take some time for the gums to heal and the implants to fuse to the jawbone before installing the dentures, which is the third and final step in the process. It can take anywhere from six weeks to six months for this to occur.

With that in mind, the process of getting implant-supported dentures can take anywhere from six months to one year from start to finish.

If you would like to learn more about our denture options at Beyond Smiles or want to schedule an appointment with us, we would be pleased to hear from you! We invite you to call us or schedule an appointment on our website. We serve patients from Dallas TX, Plano TX, Addison TX, Garland TX, Richardson TX, Carrollton TX, and BEYOND!