Cost-Effective Tooth Replacement
Popularly known as “false teeth,” dentures are a form of dental prosthesis used in cases where a person is missing one or more of their teeth. Getting fitted with the denture normally helps people with their speech and eating. The right dentures in Northampton can also greatly improve your self-confidence.
Why Choose Northampton Dental Specialists Group For Dentures?
- Dentists With Over 25 Years Of Experience
- Dental Sedation Available For Comfort
- Natural-Looking Materials
Who Is a Good Candidate for Dentures?
Most patients missing several or more teeth are good candidates for dentures. We’ll thoroughly examine your mouth to check on your oral health, so if there is a condition that could complicate your treatment, we can take care of it first to promote successful dentures. From there, we can custom make a full or partial prosthetic to suit your smile needs!
Types of Dentures
There are three main types of dentures: partial, full, and implant dentures. Each has a unique function to serve unique needs, and you can learn more about them with the information below.
Partial Dentures
Partial dentures are useful for those who still have some of their natural teeth. They are individually crafted to fit around the remaining teeth, using clips. Both the “gum” base and artificial teeth can be colored to provide a good match with surrounding teeth and gum tissue.
Full Dentures
When you are missing all of your teeth, the type of dentures that you would be getting are known as full dentures. The artificial teeth used with the prosthetic are fitted to a plate that sits right over the gums. If it is an upper denture, it would rest on the roof of your mouth.
Dentures normally have a gum-colored acrylic base, although the inner part may be constructed from metal. But don’t worry – the base is distant from the teeth so that it is not visible when you open your mouth.
Implant Dentures
Dentures can be retained by dental implants, giving them all sorts of benefits, including improved stability, comfort, aesthetics, and a natural bite feel. Instead of allowing the denture to rest on your gums, we’ll secure them in place by strategically placing four or more dental implants and attaching them to the denture.
The Benefits of Dentures
There’s a reason why dentures continue to be a tried-and-true replacement option for missing teeth! They enable patients to enjoy several benefits, such as:
- 10 years or more of use with proper care
- Easier talking and chewing ability
- A more comfortable bite
- A seamless smile
Dentures FAQs
Initially, your dentures should fit well because they are custom-made for your specific mouth. As time passes, however, the bone in your jaw will deteriorate, changing the shape of your gums. Consequently, you may reach the point where your dentures no longer fit as well as they used to. This can lead to soreness, swelling of the gums, trouble speaking, and other issues.
If you suspect that your dentures no longer fit properly, we recommend that you call our office as soon as possible. Oftentimes, we may be able to reline or re-adjust your prosthesis; in other cases, it may be necessary to replace it altogether.
Sleeping with your dentures is not recommended. Doing so can irritate your gums, and it can speed up the process of bone loss in your jaw. On top of that, wearing dentures while sleeping could raise your risk for pneumonia due to bacteria breeding in the dark, moist space underneath the prosthesis.
In short, it’s best to remove your dentures every night so that you can give your mouth a break while you sleep. Of course, you don’t want your dentures to dry out and lose their shape, so be sure to immerse them in a specialized denture-soaking solution before you head to bed.
Before you can receive dentures, you may need to have any remaining teeth extracted. Your mouth will be numbed for this procedure to prevent discomfort. However, you may experience some soreness during the recovery process. The discomfort should go away on its own after a few days, but you can manage it with an over-the-counter pain reliever such as ibuprofen.
As for the denture itself, it may cause a bit of irritation when you first start wearing it. This issue should eventually resolve itself once your mouth gets used to the prosthesis. Note that the adjustment period can potentially take months, but the exact length depends on the patient.
If your denture-related discomfort doesn’t seem to be getting any better over time, let our team know right away. We can double-check to make sure that your dentures fit as they should, and we can examine your mouth for any oral health issues that might require attention.
Certain kinds of foods can cause problems for denture-wearers. For example, peanut butter and other sticky foods can pull your prosthesis out of place, while overly hard foods like carrot sticks and apples could damage it. It’s therefore best to avoid these types of foods.
Additionally, trying to chew tough meats such as steak with dentures can be very uncomfortable. However, preparing such meats the right way can make them easier to handle. This means cooking them to make them more tender and cutting them into small, bite-sized pieces.