Dentures – Greenwood, SC 

Effects of Missing Teeth

As you consider your denture candidacy, you should also review the causes and effects of tooth loss. That way, you’ll better grasp how tooth replacement helps.

If you didn’t know, people can lose teeth for many reasons. One’s tooth might decay until it falls out or needs pulling. Meanwhile, someone else may suffer gum disease – a condition that erodes the tissues supporting your chompers. You might even get teeth knocked out by an accident or injury.

On the other hand, tooth loss effects are narrow and severe. Going without teeth almost always makes eating, speaking, and smiling harder. It also leads to smile gaps, eroding your jawbone over time. (This erosion can cause facial collapse if left untreated.) Even worse, those same gaps may tilt your other teeth until they fall out.

What Qualifies You for Dentures?

Lacking teeth is usually enough to qualify for dentures. Still, there are other factors worth considering as well.

One such element is oral health. After all, dentures don’t work when your mouth is unhealthy. Weak gums and jaws can’t keep them stable and secure. That said, sensitive or decayed teeth won’t disqualify you. Dentures can actually replace these offending chompers.

How many teeth you’ve lost is also relevant. Depending on the final number, you’ll need one of two possible dentures. The first is a partial model that only replaces a few teeth. A full denture, in contrast, will replace all the teeth along an arch.

Even your budget is a notable factor. As it turns out, dentures are often the cheapest restorations available. To that extent, they’re the best choice for patients with low funds.

Alternative Tooth-Replacement Options

Even if you don’t qualify for dentures, there’s no need to worry. There are still options for your smile! You see, Tylan Creek Family Dentistry has several other tooth replacements. These are:

• Dental Bridges – A dental bridge is usually made of crowns fused to a pontic. As such, it’s typically cemented into a space between nearby teeth. It then acts as a fixed restoration, meaning only a dentist can properly remove it.
• Dental Implants – Unlike other tooth replacements, dental implants are set in your jaw. From there, they slowly fuse with your jawbone and remain very secure. Implants also blend with your other teeth, as they’re capped with dental crowns. (To be clear, though, these unique features can make implants pricey.)

Learn More About Dental Bridges

 

Learn More About Dental Implants

What Are Dentures Made Of?

Firstly, your prosthetics will typically be made out of two components: the base and the artificial teeth. Here’s a brief look at what each consists of:

• Denture base: This is the gum-like foundation that will rest upon your gum line and support your brand-new smile. It will be constructed specifically to match your unique situation to ensure a comfortable and natural fit while restoring your bite. The base can be fabricated using various materials like nylon, resin, acrylic, porcelain, and metal if necessary. Full dentures are generally made with acrylic due to their versatility and ability to mimic natural gum tissue while partial dentures often have metal clips to clasp onto nearby teeth.
• Artificial teeth: The new teeth are typically constructed out of resin or porcelain; the latter being the more popular option due to its durability, longevity, and efficient capacity to mimic natural tooth enamel. In many cases, partials may use resin teeth because porcelain can often be too abrasive toward the remaining natural teeth.

The Denture Creation Process

To create the perfect tooth replacement for your smile, dentures involve a multi-step creation process which often looks like the following:

1. The first step is to take impressions of your upper and lower arches, including measurements of your jaw, which will help your dentist create a plaster replica of your mouth to ensure your prosthetics fit perfectly.
2. The plaster model will be sent to a dental lab so they can construct a wax replica of your gumline where your artificial teeth will be placed. This is performed using an “articulator.” The technician will then make adjustments by carving and shaping the wax to appear exactly like your natural gums.
3. Afterward, the lab will send your wax dentures to our team for a fitting. If all is well, we’ll send them back for completion.
4. At the lab, the technician will place your dentures in a flask and then pour plaster into them to preserve their shape before plunging the entire thing into hot water to boil and melt away the wax.
5. Holes will be made in the artificial teeth before acrylic is injected within the flask to replace the wax portions.
6. Using lab tools, the technician will remove the plaster to reveal the final dentures, which will then be placed in an ultrasonic bath to get rid of any lingering plaster particles.
7. Any excess acrylic will be removed before the dentures are polished to perfection.
8. Once completed, you’ll return to us to receive your final prosthetics. After making any necessary adjustments and confirming that you’re satisfied with the results, you’ll be able to enjoy your brand-new dentures.

Adjusting to Your New Dentures

It’s quite normal to experience some mild discomfort or soreness when first wearing your dentures. Fortunately, your mouth will become more accustomed to your prosthetics after some time, and your new teeth should feel more natural with practice. Make sure to stick to softer foods while eating, practice enunciating difficult words or phrases, and exercise your facial muscles often to help make your adjustment process smoother. If you notice any complications with your dentures, notify our team right away for help.

Psychological Benefits

Going any amount of time without a complete smile can have a devastating effect on your self-esteem. You may not smile, laugh, or talk as much, and studies show that smiling is not just a symptom of happiness but also a cause. In fact, those who smile more often tend to be happier than those who smile less frequently. To help you feel more confident after tooth loss, dentures can give you a natural appearance and self-assurance.

Clearer Enunciation

Making certain sounds in spoken languages requires teeth. For example, you can’t say /s/ or /f/ without teeth! As a result, if you don’t have dentures, trying to communicate with others verbally can be frustrating and isolating. On the other hand, prosthetic teeth allow you to form sounds that are understandable to others around you. Just keep in mind that it may take a little bit of time when you first get dentures to adapt your speech, but with a little time and practice, you should be able to speak clearly.

Improves Nutrition

Unless you plan on having a diet full of processed, liquified, or mashed foods, you will need to have teeth to bite and chew your food. Although there are food options available, they often do not have the same nutrients to keep the body nourished. Dentures can handle most foods, allowing you to eat a more varied diet and helping your body function optimally. If you get implant dentures, your food options are even more open!

Preserves Oral Health

When you don’t have the ability to bite or chew efficiently, your facial muscles begin to atrophy, but dentures keep these jaw muscles engaged, allowing you to keep eating. In addition, if you have some natural teeth remaining, gaps in your mouth can result in these teeth shifting to compensate for the space. When this happens, treatment becomes more challenging. Partial dentures will keep your teeth where they are supposed to be.

Expands Opportunities

Whether you want to make more friends, look for a romantic partner, or get a better job, having a complete smile can go a long way to make you more approachable to others. In contrast, gaps of missing teeth can be a little off putting. Keep your future open to new possibilities by keeping your smile strong and friendly.