Dentures (Dental Prosthesis)

There are two types of dentures: complete and partial.
Complete Tooth Prosthesis
Complete dentures are a good option to consider when all teeth are missing. And this in itself comes with two different approaches. The first approach is emergency dentures. These are fitted immediately. That is, your doctor places the dentures immediately after removing the remaining teeth. Emergency dentures are usually a temporary option until you receive your customised traditional dentures. Once in place, you will find that they don't fit your mouth perfectly. Some changes need to be made until your permanent dentures are ready. Your dentist will remove the remaining teeth and prepare your mouth. The next step is to take impressions of your mouth to produce a customised denture for your mouth. Therefore, you will need to wait for a while before wearing your dentures.
Partial Tooth Prosthesis
Partial dentures are an option to consider if you have enough teeth remaining. They are also suitable if you cannot afford to replace them with dental implants. Your dentist will take impressions of your mouth and send these measurements to an off-site laboratory. Dentures are made with artificial teeth and preserve the empty space created by your extracted real teeth. So when you wear your partial denture, it will fit perfectly around your natural teeth. If the aesthetic appearance of your real teeth is not ideal, your dentist can make crowns for you. However, this is optional and depends on what you want.
What is the duration of treatment with dental prostheses?
The initial process involves addressing underlying problems, from gum disease to cavities and existing infections. Once this is complete, you move on to the denture design stage. This usually takes a week and involves a lot of work. It is important that your dentist performs this step flawlessly for a comfortable denture. This means making models and moulds of your jaws and examining how your jaws will close.
All information must be correct before you send your measurements to a laboratory for labour.
After this process, fitting is easy. And the hard work of the place where you'll literally get a comfortable set of dentures pays off. Because they are designed specifically for your mouth, they provide more grip and retention.
Advantages of dentures:
They look natural
Restore dental functions such as chewing
Fills the mouth and prevents the chin from appearing to slope into the mouth
It is customised and has good rigidity
It has a lifespan of about 5 years
Do Dentures Feel Normal?
Unlike dental implants, dentures do not have a root, so the signal transmission is not very good. When restoring tooth function, there is a lot to do.
It is a process that you can realise within a few weeks. Starting a diet with only soft foods is ideal for training your mouth to eat with dentures. These are easier to chew and give you enough exercise to get used to it. Hard foods should be added gradually until you return to normal eating.
In general, however, there will be some daily restrictions with dentures. For example, you cannot chew gum or eat foods that stick like chewing gum. Eating very hard or very hot foods is also not recommended.
What to Expect After Denture Placement?
Your doctor will tell you to continue wearing your dentures for 24 hours during the first week. This is important for you to learn all the aspects of your dentures that cause you discomfort. While wearing dentures for the first time can feel uncomfortable, you should watch out for certain problems. For example, your dentures may be too loose or click when you speak. You should report all of these problems to your dentist, who will work to improve your dentures to fit you better.
Caring for dentures
Dentures have their own care routine. However, you will start this routine one week after insertion. Only then are you allowed to remove your dentures and preferably soak your dentures in a special solution. This is important because it allows your gums to breathe and is also necessary for normal saliva cleaning.
Alternative to dentures
Many people opt for dental implants, but the procedure is both costly and lengthy. You will receive your implants in about 6 months from the start of treatment. For this reason, people resort to dentures. But an option in between both is all-on-4 dental implants. Using 4 dental implants per jaw, it is an alternative to dentures and therefore gives you more confidence.
It also provides better signal transmission and eliminates the post-implant adaptation process. Since they are fixed to the bone, their lifespan is at least three times longer than that of prostheses.
What is Denture Adhesive?
Denture adhesives are products that come in the form of forms, pastes or powders to help fix your dentures more strongly. Some people find that denture adhesives help them a lot. For example, they provide better bite control, add more security and increase stability.
They are not really necessary for every body. This depends on several conditions. For example dry mouth. Dry mouth can loosen the fulcrum and create problems for the wearer.
If you have a job that requires excessive talking or overuse of the facial muscles, you may want to consider denture adhesives.