Dentures are removable replacements for missing teeth and surrounding tissues. They are made to resemble your natural teeth closely and may even enhance your smile.
Partial dentures, also called removable partial dentures or bridge dentures, are dental prosthetics that replace several missing teeth. They consist of replacement teeth attached to a gum-colored plastic base, which is anchored to surrounding teeth for support.
Advantages of Dentures and Partials
Restore your smile: If you’ve experienced tooth loss, your smile can appear shorter than it was. A denture or partial can correct this and restore your smile.
Improved speech: Missing teeth can also impact speech, causing mumble. Dentures and partials can restore your speech.
Improved chewing: Dentures and partials restore your facial structure and enhance the ability to chew effectively.
Improved dental health: Replacing missing teeth with dentures or partials can prevent oral health issues, such as bone atrophy, shifting teeth, and misaligned bites.
Improved appearance: Losing some or all of your teeth can take a toll on your self-esteem. Dentures and partials help enhance the appearance of the face.
Improved comfort: Dentures and partials offer patients a more comfortable fit.
Procedure for Dentures and Partials
Patients can get dentures to replace all of their teeth or just a few missing teeth. Both partials and full dentures are removable. They’re made from high-quality, durable resin or porcelain.
Dentures are custom-made to fit your mouth. The dentist will take a mold of your mouth and send it to a laboratory. There, technicians will create your custom denture. It may take a few weeks to receive the denture. During this time, your dentist may provide you with a temporary denture.
Once your custom denture is ready, you’ll return to the dentist’s office to have the dentist check your fit and make any adjustments needed.
Care and maintenance
Caring for dentures and partials is very similar to caring for natural teeth. Patients should brush and floss their dentures twice a day, and use a denture cleaner every night.
All dentures and partials come with a “fitting kit,” which contains instructions on how to properly care for them. If patients have any questions about their dentures, they should ask their dentist.
Dr. James Thurber DDS, located in Lubbock, TX, has modern amenities and the latest technologies that enable the best dental care facilities for patients. Call us at (806) 745-6644 and book a consultation with the dentist.