Dentures are artificial teeth that look, feel, and function like natural teeth. There are different types of dentures to treat minor to severe tooth loss. Tooth loss can cause insecurity in your smile and difficulty chewing and speaking. By wearing dentures, you restore your tooth structure and functionality while boosting your confidence. Whether you’re missing a few teeth or most of your teeth, this will cause gaps in your smile and reduce the support to your face, especially around your mouth. Contact your dentist in Greenville to schedule a consultation.
A partial denture has a maximum life expectancy of 15 years.
Dr. Ladd will examine your teeth to rule out oral health problems and determine if you’re a good candidate for dentures based on the extent of your tooth loss.
To prepare you for full dentures, your remaining teeth need to be removed. This is done under anesthetic. After removing any teeth, we will take impressions of your mouth to create full dentures or impressions of your teeth to create partials.
After extracting teeth, it takes 8 to 12 weeks for your gums to fully heal. While your official dentures are being fabricated in a dental lab based on your impressions, we will place an immediate temporary denture in your mouth.
You will come back to the office for a trial fitting. This is a mock-up of your dentures set in wax. This helps us determine if any adjustments need to be made based on your bite.
After changing the dentures as much as necessary, we will hold a fitting for your final dentures. Dr. Ladd will explain how you can get used to them.
A partial denture replaces 1 or a few missing teeth. Artificial teeth made of resin or porcelain are attached to a gum-colored base that is connected through a metal wire framework that hooks around supporting teeth with metal clasps. Placing a partial denture after losing a tooth will prevent your other teeth from shifting.
Full or complete dentures are when you are replacing all of the teeth in an arch or both arches in the mouth. Full dentures are only used to treat severe tooth loss because your remaining teeth need to be extracted.
The denture forms a tight seal around the gums, which holds it in place. After extractions are performed, you will need 1 to 3 months to heal before we can fit you for dentures. Immediate temporary dentures are already pre-fabricated for you so that you don’t have to walk around without teeth while you heal.
This will help you perform everyday tooth functions like eating and speaking. Using impressions that we take of your mouth along with your jaw record, a dental lab creates a custom-made denture for you to try on, and then we make as many adjustments as necessary to ensure you are comfortable and that they are fitting properly.
Full dentures last for 7 to 10 years on average but may need to be relined or rebased if your facial structure changes.
The number of teeth needed for dentures varies depending on the type. For instance, patients can get complete dentures if they don’t have teeth in their entire jaw. These dentures replace the entire set of teeth in either the upper or lower jaw. They're ideal for patients who’ve lost all their teeth due to aging or disease.
Partial dentures, on the other hand, are recommended for patients who’ve lost several teeth on either jaw. Unlike complete dentures, these dentures don’t replace an entire set of teeth. Instead, they consist of a metal framework that attaches to the remaining teeth and a gum-colored base that holds the prosthetic teeth. It's worth noting that you can get partial dentures even without any remaining partial teeth.
Then there are the Implant-supported dentures. These dentures use implants to support the metal framework that holds the dentures in place. Patients must, however, get implants drilled into their jawbone before getting these dentures.
Sleeping with your dentures is always a bad idea and could lead to dental complications. You see, having dentures while you sleep disrupts the normal flow of saliva in the mouth. This causes a PH imbalance in the mouth, leading to the proliferation of a fungus in the mouth and subsequently causing denture stomatitis. Denture stomatitis causes swelling, redness, and soreness in the gums holding the dentures.
Sleeping with dentures also doesn’t give your gums a break from the friction between the dentures and the gums, causing irritation. Moreover, sleeping with dentures can lead to the accumulation of plaque and tartar under the dentures, leading to bad breath and compromising your dental health.
Patients should expect to pay between $1,000 to $15,000 per arch for complete dentures. Partial dentures are more affordable and typically cost between $500 to $2,500, depending on the number of missing teeth and other factors.
Implant-supported dentures are the most expensive type of dentures, costing $2,000 to $20,000. Factors affecting the cost include the number of implants needed and the location of the missing teeth. Although these are the most expensive type of denture, implant-supported dentures are extremely stable and functional.
After tooth extraction gums need time to heal before you can get dentures. The extraction site takes 24 to 72 hours to completely form a clot. After that, the extraction site takes two to four weeks to heal completely.
Please note, wearing dentures before the complete healing could lead to intense pain and comfort. The friction between the dentures and gums further prolongs the healing and increases the likelihood of bacterial and fungal infection. So make sure that your gums are completely healed before getting dentures.
