The Tooth about Dentures

As a dentist, I always hope I never have to give my patient dentures. However I know it is inevitable that many people will need to have them made. Lets start with the basics......

Dentures are plastic "plates" that people can wear that have plastic teeth embedded in them. They are for patients that have no teeth or will have no teeth after treatment is completed. The positive: They look great. When it comes to getting a beautiful smile, dentures can give a very ideal beautiful look because they are 100% designed and controlled. The negative.... dentures are not real teeth and feel nothing like real teeth. Your ability to chew will be clearly less than before. The analogy I usually use is comparing wearing a boxing glove vs your fingers - its quite clumsy.

Dentures can be made in two ways: Before your teeth come out, or after. To make them before the teeth are pulled are called "immediate dentures"... namely because they are given immediately after the teeth come out. This allows you to never have to walk around with no teeth. There is a drawback however, and that is that the shape of the plate is a laboratory guess. It will fit moderately well the first day and get progressively worse as the jawbone remodels itself  after the teeth have come out. Some of the time after the bone finishes changing, the internal surface of the denture can be relined to fit the new shape of the bone, but this isn't always possible. Thats why I consider the immediate denture to be a temporary denture. The most reliable way to make a denture is to wait 2-3 months after the teeth are removed to shape it to the final shape of the mouth.

Upper dentures are superior to lower dentures. Why? Because there is suction. The upper uses the palate (or roof of your mouth) to create a seal of air and water to behaving like a suction cup. It won't flop around so easily.  This is why sometimes dentists will often be more aggressive when planning for upper dentures because the end result isn't as dramaticly different from a few teeth and a partial denture - it basically will save you money long run. The lower denture however, is terrible. It will move around a lot and the only way to control it is to use yoru tongue properly. It is a skill that requires practice.

Fortunately we now have dental implants to help use these plates. With two implants placed in each jaw, they can hook onto the denture and give a very stable prostheses. They can be so tight that it will take a lot of effort to remove them. In addition if more implants are used, the upper can be made to not cover the palate for increased taste and comfort. I always recommend this option for those who are healthy enough to have dental implants.