Bringing Back Your Smile: Complete and Partial Dentures

When multiple teeth are lost due to decay or accidents, it can really change the shape of your mouth, how you eat, how your drink, and how you speak.

Losing a single tooth can be bad enough on its own, but multiple losses can be difficult to cope with.

Additionally, it can be very expensive to install multiple bridges in your mouth to restore your smile, especially if there are a lot of lost teeth.

Fortunately, there is an affordable solution: dentures.

Denture Construction in Houston

In order to get dentures, you must first visit your local Houston dentist. They will examine your mouth, and if absolutely necessary, remove other teeth that need to be extracted before installing dentures.

Next, they will make a cast of your mouth. This cast will show all the teeth and any gaps between them.

The cast will act as a sort of road map for your mouth. It will show the dentist how all of your teeth fit together, and when the cast is sent to the dental laboratory, the lab technician will be able to construct a custom fitted set of dentures for you.

Ensuring the teeth all fit together the same way as they did before the teeth were lost is important in maintaining a healthy mouth. Poorly fitting dentures and other implants can lead to infections.

Using the cast, the lab technician is able to precisely sculpt a set of false teeth that are shaped and sized to fit perfectly in the mouth of the patient.

The end result is a natural looking set of teeth.

Complete and Partial Dentures

Complete dentures are a full set of false teeth.

These are constructed when the original teeth are all lost to accidents, decay, or extractions. The encompass the whole mouth, from the incisors to the molars.

A complete set of dentures is fully removable, which is important for cleaning and maintaining them, as they cannot be maintained in the same way that normal teeth can.

They must also usually be bonded to the gums using special adhesives.

It typically takes between eight and twelve weeks for a full set of dentures to be constructed.

Partial dentures replace several teeth, but not all of them.

When decay or accidents cause the removal of two or more teeth, a partial denture can replace them more cheaply than getting several bridges installed.

Like complete dentures, partial dentures are removable for cleaning and maintaining.

There are also immediate dentures which can be placed as soon as teeth are removed by the dentist.

This makes it much easier to resume normal living conditions after extracting a large number of teeth, but because the gums tend to shrink while healing from tooth removal, the immediate dentures can become uncomfortable or loose.

Immediate dentures are fabricated in advance of teeth removal in order to be installed right away.

Longevity and Care for Dentures

Dentures can be cared for in a similar fashion as your original teeth with some exceptions.

The materials that comprise the false teeth can be easily scratched, so soft bristled toothbrushes are a necessity. Additionally, it is best to remove any large food particles before brushing.

Cleaning of the gums and tongue are especially important when you have dentures. Bacteria collects on the soft tissue and can lead to bad breath.

When not worn, complete dentures must be kept in a safe location and submerged in water to prevent warping.

On average, a set of dentures will last five to seven years, but after seven years, they may need to be relined to maintain proper fit.

If the dentures become too loose, they will need to be reconstructed.