You’ve struggled with dental disease for years, and your worst fear has come true. You’ve lost the last of your remaining teeth. This is an unfortunate experience that many Americans in their 60s and 70s have to face, and it can negatively impact their health and self-image. Are dentures a viable solution?
One of the main reasons you should consider getting dentures is the fact that they’re low maintenance. Because these tooth restorations are removable, they’re easy to clean and maintain. Not to mention, you don’t have to worry about your body rejecting the restoration as a dental implant would.
When you’re dealing with tooth loss, you may be confused about the best way to restore your teeth. While there are new and innovative ways to fix total tooth loss, dentures remain the tried and true method of restoring teeth. Here’s everything you should know about removable dentures.
Reasons Why Dentures are an Excellent Tooth Restoration Solution
If you’re thinking of investing in affordable dentures, you may be wondering why they’re a good restoration option for total tooth loss.
An additional advantage of dentures is that they restore the form and function of your teeth if fashioned properly. This means you can go back to eating your food normally and smiling without worrying about missing teeth.
Not to mention, because they’re removable, you can change the design of your teeth any time you wish without any pain.
Dentures Tooth Restoration Process
Once you’ve consulted Family Dentist Medford and settled on dentures as your preferred tooth restoration, several things will happen before you get your new set of pearly whites. These include:
- Getting dental impressions: Before the dentist custom makes your dentures, they must take impressions of your gum ridges. These measurements are then used to make a plastic resin base that’s colored to resemble the color of your gums.
- Designing the teeth: Once the dentist has your dental impressions, they’ll look at old photos of you and any documentation that shows how you looked with your teeth. This will inform the designs they pick to create your new set of teeth, thereby ensuring the teeth are a perfect fit for your face.
- Fine-tuning: After creating the dentures, the dentist will fit them into your mouth, test the fit, and ensure the new set of teeth goes well with your other facial features. If any adjustments are required, the dentures will go back to the lab for further fine-tuning.
Once you and your dentist are satisfied with the final appearance of the dentures, you can enjoy your new smile and use the teeth as you would your natural ones.
Drawbacks of Dentures
While removable dentures are an excellent way to restore teeth, they have one major drawback: these restorations don’t prevent bone loss. Like other living tissues, your jaw bone has a life cycle. As older cells die, new cells grow to take their place. The forces your teeth exert onto the bone stimulate this new bone growth.
However, when you lose teeth, there is no stimulation on the bone. Consequently, you lose bone tissue gradually. The same thing happens with dentures because there is no stimulation to the bone.
Therefore, over time, you may lose a lot of bone to the point that the denture won’t be able to fit on your gums as it did during your first fitting. When this happens, the only solution is to have a new set of dentures made for your new gum structure.
Due to this disadvantage, most people opt for implant-supported dentures. These dentures halt the bone loss process where the implants are placed and are way more long-lasting
Therefore, be sure to speak to your Medford dentist about all the possible options to ensure the durability of your dentures before the procedure begins. The dentist will evaluate your case and offer the best course of treatment to you.
Wrapping Up
Losing all your teeth can be an extremely traumatic experience. You not only lose your ability to eat, but it can also affect your self-esteem. However, this doesn’t have to be your story. Dentures have been used for centuries to restore teeth, and they’re still an excellent way to restore total tooth loss today.
At Medford Dentistry, we use the latest technology to ensure you get a flawless new set of teeth within no time. So, if you’re dealing with tooth loss, we can help. Speak to a Medford dentist about the possible solutions and get a new set of pearly whites to call (781) 777-1812 today