There could be instances where you could suffer from tooth loss at a time in your life. This could be due to caries, gum disease, or dental trauma. Missing teeth can be debilitating since they negatively impact your oral health and wellness. But with dentures, you can successfully replace the missing teeth to regain your oral functions and aesthetics.

Full and partial dentures are removable replacements for missing teeth and surrounding tissues that provide patients with oral rehabilitation. 

What are dentures? 

Dentures are removable appliances with false or artificial teeth that fit snugly over the gums to replace missing teeth and eliminate potential problems caused by gaps. 

The modern dentures are generally made up of a hard resin. The supporting structures of the denture that hold the teeth in place and mimic the natural gum line are often made out of a similar resin used for the teeth, or a flexible polymer material that fits accurately on the natural gum line. 

What are the types of dentures?

There are two types of dentures, namely,

• Partial dentures: Dentures that replace one or a few missing teeth in either the upper or the lower jaw. 
• Full or complete dentures: Removable appliances that replace all your missing teeth in the upper and lower jaw. 
• Immediate dentures: It is an appliance that you wear right after tooth extraction. 
• Implant-supported dentures: These appliances gain support from a dental implant inserted into the jawbone, and are permanent fixtures.

How are dentures fabricated?

Dental Consultation

• Your dentist will evaluate your mouth, the missing space, and the remaining natural teeth.
• Dental X-rays will be taken to assess the jawbone thickness.

Denture Fabrication

• First, your dentist will take oral impressions of the upper and lower jaw.
• The impressions will be sent to the lab to create a dental model of your mouth.
• Your technician will then fabricate the denture by building up the base and placing the false teeth.
• The occlusion (bite) will be evaluated and later the denture will be polished. This helps provide a natural-looking shine.

Denture Placement

• Your dentist will place the new dentures in your mouth, and check the fit.
• The denture will be evaluated for high points and proper occlusion and necessary final adjustments will be made.

What are the benefits of dentures?

Dentures offer several benefits, such as:

• Improved chewing function
• Enhanced appearance
• Improved speech 
• Cost-effective
• Do not compromise the natural teeth structure 

Takeaway

Replacing missing teeth is the key to long-term oral health since missing teeth harm your speech, eating, and facial aesthetics. Dentures are excellent cost-effective teeth replacement procedures to restore your oral health and function.