Full and partial dentures

Full dentures

All dentists hope that one day there will not be a need to make dentures. With proper oral hygiene and regular visits to the dentist, patients should be able to keep their natural teeth for a lifetime. It is amazing that not too many years ago it was a universal belief that sooner or later you would lose all your teeth, and full dentures were inevitable. This belief was so entrenched in the profession and in patients' minds that, as soon as some people developed cavities (even in their twenties), it was recommended to remove ALL their teeth and make full dentures. This was done to avoid the inevitable. That is why, sadly, there are people who are only in their fifties and have been wearing dentures for almost 30 years. Today, the attitude of the profession and the patients has come full circle. Everything done in dentistry is to save teeth. People born now will no longer worry about losing their teeth by the time they reach middle age, and can hopefully think of full dentures as being a thing of the past.

The fabrication of dentures has not changed too dramatically over the years, and mainly still consists of taking the proper molds and bite to be sent to the laboratory. The laboratory technician then chooses the proper size and color of teeth and returns them to your dentist. The dentist does a final bite adjustment and gives them to you. Sometimes he/she will have you look at them in wax prior to finishing them to check for the bite, shape and color of your teeth. Usually after a few years of use, you will notice that the dentures no longer feel as tight as they were when you first got them. This is due to the fact that with continuous use, your dentures will cause enough pressure on the underlying bone that the bone will begin to resorb or melt away. This is when your dentist will recommend a "reline". It is a simple procedure, usually done in the lab, where additional plastic is added to the underpart of the dentures. This added material will usually make the dentures "snug " again for a few more years until the process is done over again or new dentures are fabricated.

Partial removable dentures

A partial removable denture is very similar to a full denture except that it has clasps or hooks that attach to remaining teeth. They are usually fabricated in the lab from a "chrome" based metal, covered with plastic and then teeth. They are much stronger to chew with and don't move as much as a full denture because they are hooked on to the natural teeth. The biggest problem with these type of appliances is the tremendous amount of pressure they place on the supporting natural teeth. These teeth need exceptional maintenance, otherwise they will be rapidly lost to tooth decay or gum disease.

FAQ

I have teeth now, and my dentist recommends that I get dentures. Will I have to walk around with no teeth for a while after he takes them out?

Absolutely not. What he or she will probably do is make you an " immediate denture". This means that he/she will take the molds before taking your teeth out, make the completed dentures, and deliver them to you the same day the teeth are extracted. After a couple of months of healing, your dentist will then reline the dentures to get them to fit properly.

I am happy with my upper denture, but the lower one is always loose, even after my dentist relines it.

Unless you have an exceptional amount of remaining bone on your lower jaw, your lower denture is almost certain to be looser than your upper one. This is because your upper denture derives most of its support from the "palate" or roof of your mouth. Until recently, the truth is that there wasn't much help available to patients like you and you simply had to get used to dealing with the problem. Today however, with the advent of dental implants, you can have this problem taken care of with reasonable predictability. Implants have almost miraculously solved this problem for thousands of people like you, and have transformed their lives. The most important thing is that you have a sufficient amount of bone remaining in your lower jaw to be a good candidate for implants (see section on implants). Briefly, several (2 to 5) implants are usually placed in the front part of your lower jaw, and then a variety of different kinds of attachments could then be used to further attach to your denture (see illustration). The results are nothing short of miraculous, with the ability to eat foods you never dreamt possible before the procedure! Consult with your dentist /surgeon to see if you are a good candidate.