As you may already know, losing some of your teeth will quickly affect your day-to-day life. This issue tends to make even the simplest tasks - chewing, speaking, even smiling - much more complex. That said, you can always take up the traditional solution to tooth loss: dentures in Melbourne! We at Rowley Family Dentistry would use these prosthetics to make your smile full again. If you want further details, keep reading or book a consultation today.
Who is a Good Candidate for Dentures?
Often, most adults with missing teeth can qualify for dentures. These appliances can help nearly anyone who suffers from the downsides of tooth loss. Having said that, there are cases where a patient isn’t well-suited for them. Another treatment could be better if someone isn’t missing all the teeth along an arch. Alternatively, a prospect may not have the healthy gums needed to support dentures.
Given these facts, it’s best to consult Dr. Rowley to see if dentures may help. He’ll perform a quick oral exam (and X-rays if necessary) to learn if the prosthetics suit you. If he thinks that they do, he’ll draft a custom treatment plan tailored to your needs.
Types of Dentures
Based on your consultation results, our office may outline the types of dentures you could choose. Dr. Rowley will likely suggest that you get one of the following:
Partial Dentures
Per its name, a partial denture only replaces a few teeth at a time. The device usually fits your gumline with suction or clasps onto “abutments” (i.e., nearby natural teeth). It then relies on its base's pink coloring and artificial teeth to blend with your grin. The base uses an acrylic portion that matches your gum tissue, while each artificial tooth has the same shade as your enamel.
Full Dentures
A full denture (unlike a partial one) replaces an entire arch of teeth at once. Given this fact, it relies solely on suction force to stay in place; it won’t alter your other teeth by using clasps. Still, this device uses the same materials as a partial denture. Both appliances rely on gum-colored bases and porcelain or ceramic artificial teeth.
Implant Dentures
If you’d like a permanent and unwavering option, consider implant dentures. These kinds secure themselves with dental implants – small metal posts that fuse with your jawbone. Through these posts, implant dentures remain stable and steady over time. They won’t slip or fall from your mouth like other types might, and they prevent facial collapse.
Due to their traits, implant dentures suit patients who want non-traditional options. They have perks and benefits that other choices can’t match.
The Benefits of Dentures
Dentures have been around for many years, making them a tried and tested way of addressing significant tooth loss. However, the dentures made today aren’t like the ones that your grandparents used to wear. They are natural-looking and customized for each patient. This allows for a wide range of benefits. Here are some of the most prominent ones you can expect.
Understanding the Cost of Dentures
There are several tooth replacement treatments available at Rowley Family Dentistry, but dentures are by and large the most accessible option. Even so, many patients worry that they may not be able to afford prosthetics when the time comes to invest in them to protect their smile. If you’re anxious about the cost of dentures, read more below. You’ll find everything you need to know about factors that affect their price and ways that we work to make them more accessible for our patients.
Dentures FAQs
While dentures are amazingly durable, they are not invincible. While they can last for five to seven years with proper maintenance, they can break if the patient drops them while cleaning, inserting, or removing them. Dentures can also become damaged if they do not fit well or if they have defects such as scratches or notches in their base. Even if you give your set excellent care, it can still become worn down due to repeated use.
The most serious damage a denture can sustain is “prosthesis fracture,” which happens when the dentures break in half. While this happens more frequently to top dentures, it can also happen to bottom ones as well. The cause and severity of the break largely determine whether the appliance can be repaired, and it’s best to call our office as soon as you notice any damage. While we may be able to repair your dentures in a single office visit, some cases require us to send the appliance back to a dental lab. In other cases, we will recommend replacement.
Each set of dentures is customized to fit the patient’s mouth, so yours should fit very well when you first get it. However, dentures tend to lose their fit over time due to wear and tear and the changing shape of the patient’s mouth. A poorly fitting pair of dentures can lead to oral health issues such as sore, swollen, or bleeding gums, bad breath, or trouble speaking. If your dentures are no longer fitting properly, bring them to our office in Melbourne. We may be able to adjust or reline them so they fit better, but we may recommend replacement in some cases. Some patients find that using denture adhesives helps their appliances fit better.
We recommend removing and soaking your dentures before going to bed. While you’ll probably be instructed to wear your dentures continuously for the first twenty-four hours after receiving them, it’s important to remove them for at least eight hours every day afterward. Since wearing your dentures limits blood flow to your gums, wearing them too long can lead to soft tissue irritation and accelerated bone loss. On the other hand, removing your dentures every day gives your mouth the time it needs to rest and clean itself so it can stay healthy. Continuous denture wear can also allow bacteria to multiply and thrive in the dark, moist space between your appliance and your gums, and sleeping while wearing dentures is associated with poor oral hygiene, increased gum and tongue plaque, and increased risk of pneumonia.