Helping You Understand Dentures

If you have missing teeth, your dentist (usually a prosthodontist) will most likely recommend dentures because they are the most affordable, most popular and most non-invasive treatment option for missing teeth.

Other options include dental bridges and dental implants, which may, in most cases, require surgery. Because of the level of invasiveness of these alternative forms of missing teeth treatments, you may find that a dentist will perform various tests to find out whether you are a good candidate for them. This means that you should have no underlying condition that could put you at risk during surgery.

That said, here is everything you need to know about dentures:

What Are Dentures?

These are artificial teeth that are attached to a plastic base in the exact way your natural teeth are attached to your gum. They mimic your teeth and gum in shape, colour and appearance. You can either come across an upper or lower denture, which when put together resembles your entire set of teeth.

Since some people might only have a few missing teeth and others entirely toothless, so you may come across partial and full dentures.

Partial dentures are those dentures that only have a few teeth attached at the position where you have missing teeth. Other spaces on the denture are left toothless to create room for your natural teeth so that when you wear the denture, the missing teeth will fit perfectly in the gaps in your mouth without interfering with your natural teeth.

Full dentures have a full set of teeth. You wear them on your toothless gums as your new set of teeth. The upper denture is supported by your lower gum, while the upper dental is supported by your upper gum and palate (roof of your mouth).

Denture Care

Once you are fitted with dentures, your dentist will explain how you are supposed to care for them. This mainly entails keeping them clean, how to avoid damaging them and how you are supposed to store them when you take them out.

  • Always remove your dentures to clean them thoroughly and take care not to drop them. Though they are not delicate, they can break if dropped on a hard surface. 
  • When you remove them at night when sleeping, place them in a glass of water; this keeps them moist. Moisture helps keep your dentures in good condition.
  • Lastly, avoid chewing hard food with your dentures. You can easily damage them and accidentally injure the soft tissue in your mouth.

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