703.478.9574Dentures
Reston and Arlington, VA
If you have any missing teeth, and for some reason don’t want or don’t qualify for dental implants, dentures are a way to deal with the problem.
Dentures are removable and can be:
- Partial – replacing several adjacent teeth, and held in place by metal bands which attach to the neighboring teeth; or
- Full (Complete) –replacing all the upper or lower teeth.
Complete dentures
These can be either:
- Conventional –your teeth are removed and when the gums have fully healed, the new denture is fitted
- Immediate –the dentures are placed as soon as the teeth are removed
Benefits of dentures
- By filling the gaps caused by missing teeth, they prevent that sunken look you might otherwise acquire
- They prevent your natural teeth from migrating in the jawbone, which can happen when gaps exist for long enough, and keep them in their correct positions
- They give you chewing strength
- Your smile will be happier with dentures than with missing teeth
- They prevent speech difficulties which can sometimes develop when teeth are missing from certain locations
This 55 year old patient had a broken denture. He now has a new full smile, upper and lower denture.
The adjustment period
Some time is usually needed for adjusting to the presence of teeth where before there were none.
- Sometimes you may have some soreness for a while
- You may have some relearning to do for the processes of eating and speaking
If soreness continues beyond a couple of weeks, perhaps you’re wearing the dentures for too long each day. Dr. Katz gives his patients some advice on how long to wear them each day and how often to remove them.
Caring for dentures
If soreness recurs later, check your dental hygiene. Dentures need to be brushed every day to remove pieces of food and plaque, and to keep them from discoloring. There are special denture brushes which do an efficient job, and denture toothpaste.
- If you have a partial denture, remove it before you brush your natural teeth
- When the dentures are removed, soak them in a denture solution or in plain water
- Never put your dentures in boiling water, as it will damage them
In the longer term
As we age, our mouth changes, so the fit of your dentures may change. This seems to take about 7 years to become noticeable. They’ll tend to become loose as the gums and bones shrink, and may start to rub in certain places. When that happens the best thing is to get a new denture, before more than about 7 years go by.
If you wait too long, it may not be possible to replace the denture. Wearing loose dentures for too long allows the body to create flabby gum tissue in an attempt to fill the spaces under your dentures. If your jawbone becomes covered with this flabby tissue, any new denture will also be loose. The solution then is surgery to rebuild the bone and gum tissues.
So don’t wait until your gums are red and swollen. Preventive maintenance is the best way to retain well-fitting dentures over many years.
Click here for more information about dentures.
Types of Dentures
Frequently Asked Questions
Get new dentures today! If you live around Herndon, contact Dr. Katz and schedule a Free Smile Evaluation today to get more information about dentures.
