Types of Dentures, Procedure Used, and the Benefits

You might have a missing tooth due to tooth decay, gum disease, tooth wear, cancer, or accidents. When your teeth are severely damaged, decayed or have severe periodontal disease, they may have to be extracted. The extraction leaves a gap, but you don’t have to live with it. Instead, your dentist can use different dental prostheses to fill the gap. An example of dental prostheses is dentures, which restore the function and appearance of the tooth. This article contains more information about dentures. Read on.

What is a Denture?

A denture is a dental prosthetic device designed to replace missing teeth and to surrounding hard and soft tissues. Dentures are made of metal, acrylic, or nylon and while some are removable, others such as overdentures rely on dental implants or tooth bonding.

Types of Dentures

There are two main types of dentures; complete and partial dentures. You can get these dentures at a dental office near you whenever you have a gap you need to cover.

Complete Dentures

They are removable devices used by someone who has lost all their teeth. Complete dentures cover the whole mouth and can be either immediate or conventional. They are
made after all teeth have been removed and the gum has begun healing.

A conventional denture is ready for positioning in the mouth about 8-12 weeks after your teeth have been removed. An immediate denture is constructed in advance and can be fixed to your mouth when the teeth are removed. As a result, you don’t have to heal without teeth. However, your gum and bones shrink over time after tooth removal during the healing period.

Therefore, one disadvantage of immediate dentures over convectional dentures is that the former require more adjustments. The adjustments ensure immediate dentures fit correctly during the healing period. Consequently, they should be worn temporarily until conventional dentures are made.

Partial Dentures

A bridge or a removable partial denture usually consists of replacement teeth fixed in gum-colored or pink plastic material. The material is connected to a metal framework that holds the denture in place in your mouth. Partial dentures are applied when you have one or more missing teeth in the lower and upper jaw.

A fixed bridge fills the tooth gap by placing crowns on the teeth on both sides of the hole. Your dentist will then cement the bridge into place.

Apart from filling gaps created by missing teeth, partial dentures also prevent the tooth from changing its position. A precision denture is a tooth-looking device that is removable. It has internal attachments that attach to the adjacent crowns.

How are Dentures Made

The procedure takes a few weeks and several appointments. Once the dentist determines the type of appliances that is best for you, they’ll proceed with the following steps:

1. Your dentist will make a model using the denture impressions of your mouth and jaw. The models are made of wax. The model will be fitted until the right color and shape are acquired before the final denture.
2. The teeth are attached with wax using an articulator. Then the dentist will use a wax model to shape and carve the wax. The wax will be similar to gums after shaping.
3. Plaster is poured into a holding device where the dentures are in to maintain the denture’s shape. The device is put in hot water to melt the wax. A separator is then added to the plaster to prevent the acrylic sticking to the dressing.
4. Your dentist will eliminate the plaster, trim and polish the denture. The denture placement procedure will be complete.

Benefits of Dentures

By getting your dentures at Dr. Patel Dentistry in Ajax, ON, you’ll get some benefits that include:

• The risk of getting oral problems is reduced.
• Dentures are removable, making it easy to clean them.
• Having missing teeth can ruin your appearance; hence a denture improves your aesthetic appearance.
• You don’t have restrictions on what to eat with dentures, but your dentist might advise you on what to eat in moderation to avoid damaging your dentures.

If you happen to have a missing tooth due to tooth extraction or injury, don’t hesitate to visit our offices to replace them with dentures in Ajax, ON. Our dentist will accord you high-quality services and ensure your beautiful smile is restored and improves your health.