Dentures

What Are Dentures?

Dentures are removable prosthetics, designed for either a full or partial mouth, that help restore your smile by replacing missing teeth. After losing all of your natural teeth, the application of dentures can drastically improve eating and speaking, as these activities can be very difficult without teeth. Types of dentures include:

Conventional - Conventional dentures are a full removable denture, placed in the mouth only once the gum tissue has fully healed from any dental extractions needed beforehand. Once the gums have healed, a dental mold is created from the patient's oral cavity. This mold is used to capture the shape of the mouth, and to create dentures that easily fit into the patient's mouth.

Immediate - Immediate dentures are designed to be inserted on the same day that any remaining teeth are extracted. Using a preliminary measurement of the mouth, a dentist will have a model made that closely resembles your teeth. With immediate dentures, a patient doesn’t have to be without teeth during the healing process from the dental extractions. The dentures can be modified by relining the denture with additional base material to fit the tissue more intimately after your mouth has healed and remodeled following the extraction of your teeth.

Implant retained or supported- Usually, the biggest challenge with dentures is keeping them in place and stable enough to be comfortable and functional. Dental implants can greatly improve the fit and stability of your dentures. Depending on the number and position of the dental implants, they can range from retaining the denture in a stable spot against your tissue to completely supporting a denture prosthesis that the load of your bite is directly connected to your underlying jaw bones, much like it was when you had natural teeth.