Thanks to advances in dental materials, technology, and methods of care, it's easier than ever before to replace missing teeth with the most natural-looking and aesthetically pleasing treatment outcomes. While dental implants and fixed bridgework provide effective and satisfying solutions for missing teeth, removable dentures remain a tried and true method for reestablishing a complete smile.

At the office of Precious Smiles Family Dentistry, we fabricate dentures from the highest grade of dental materials for a precise and comfortable fit. Our dentures are meticulously designed to rebuild beautiful smiles and support natural facial contours while enabling patients to speak, smile, and chew with renewed confidence and ease.

We're dedicated to helping patients to enjoy the benefits of a beautiful smile and take pride in offering personalized solutions to address their dental needs, lifestyle, and budget.

How missing teeth affect your smile, your health, and your outlook

According to recent statistics, it's estimated that across the country, over 175 million adults have lost at least one tooth, and close to 40 million are missing all of their teeth. In most of these cases, tooth loss is the end result of extensive dental decay, advanced gum disease, a traumatic injury, a congenital anomaly, or associated with a medical condition.Â

In addition to the psychological and social consequences having embarrassing gaps in your smile often produce, missing teeth can affect your ability to speak clearly and eat a satisfying and nutritious diet. Left unaddressed, missing teeth can also cause gradual changes to your appearance and the alignment of your remaining teeth. These changes not only affect your bite, but they have the potential to create more unsightly and unhealthy gaps in your smile. Furthermore, without the support of a complete set of teeth, facial contours may also begin to look more sagged and haggard over time.Â

While it's never too late to rebuild a complete and beautiful smile, it's always best to replace missing teeth sooner than later. Both partial and full dentures from the office of Precious Smiles Family Dentistry offer an effective and satisfying solution for reestablishing a complete smile.

What are dentures?

Dentures are removable appliances that are designed to precisely and comfortably rest on top of the gums that cover the jawbones. They consist of natural-looking artificial teeth set in a supportive base. In addition to offering a cost-effective solution for the replacement of missing teeth, dentures are quite versatile. They can be used to replace either a few teeth that have been lost or all of the teeth in the upper or lower jaws.

While conventional bridgework and dental implants offer fixed solutions for rebuilding complete smiles, partial and full dentures are removable oral appliances. This statement means it's possible to take dentures out of the mouth to clean and maintain the health of the underlying tissues and any remaining teeth, as well as clean the dentures themselves, or remove them while sleeping.

Types of Dentures

You can rest assured that rebuilding your smile is in the best of hands at the office of Precious Smiles Family Dentistry. As skilled and experienced providers of care, we'll carefully evaluate all aspects of your smile, the health and integrity of any remaining teeth, along with the surrounding tissues and the supporting bone to develop a treatment plan that satisfies the functional and aesthetic requirements of your case.

The two main types of removable dentures are full dentures and partial dentures. Which of these types offers the best solution for your smile depends on how many natural teeth are still present in your mouth and the health of these remaining teeth. While a partial denture can offer an effective solution in cases where some sturdy natural teeth remain, you may be a candidate for a complete denture when all the upper or lower teeth are missing or require extraction.

Full Dentures

Full dentures, also known as complete dentures, can effectively replace all the upper teeth, lower teeth, or both the upper and lower teeth. As with other types of dental solutions, there's no one-size-fits-all approach for every case. The ultimate design, fabrication, and insertion of a full denture can vary based upon a patient's specific needs.

Removable Partial Dentures

In situations where some sturdy teeth remain, partial dentures can offer an effective solution for the replacement of missing teeth. Partial dentures typically achieve adequate retention and stability with clasps or precision attachments on the teeth adjacent to the edentulous areas (the spaces formerly occupied by the missing teeth).

Removable partial dentures can fill the void left by individual missing teeth and multiple ones to restore the look and function of a complete smile. At the same time a partial denture fills the gaps left by missing teeth; it also stabilizes the dentition and bite and prevents unwanted drifting of the remaining natural teeth.

As with full dentures, partial denture design and fabrication varies based on a patient's specific needs. With advances in dental materials and technology, partial denture wearers have more options than ever before. Today, a partial denture's supportive framework can be fabricated from various materials, including cast metal, flexible resins, and hybrid materials.

At the office of Precious Smiles Family Dentistry, we're dedicated to building healthy and beautiful smiles. As your trusted partner in care, you can depend on our office to design and fabricate a denture that will look good, fit comfortably, and serve you well for years to come.

Immediate Denture

Immediate dentures are a convenient solution for patients requiring the extraction of teeth, allowing them to leave the dental office with a complete smile the same day as their procedure. These dentures are pre-fabricated and placed immediately after tooth extraction, ensuring you never have to go without teeth during the healing process.

Benefits of Immediate Denture

• Instant Results: Restores your smile right away, avoiding gaps while your gums heal.
• Protective Function: Acts as a bandage over extraction sites, promoting healing and reducing discomfort.
• Improved Confidence: Maintains your appearance and ability to speak and eat as you transition to permanent dentures.

Considerations

While immediate dentures offer convenience, they may require adjustments or relining as your gums and bone reshape during healing. In some cases, transitioning to a conventional denture or another long-term solution may be necessary for optimal comfort and fit.

Implant-Retained Overdenture

Implant-retained overdentures combine the stability of dental implants with the removable convenience of traditional dentures. These dentures are secured by two or more strategically placed implants in the jaw, offering significantly improved retention compared to conventional dentures.

This option is ideal for patients seeking greater comfort functionality, and confidence in their dental prosthesis. Implant-retained overdentures reduce gum irritation, enhance chewing efficiency, and help preserve the underlying jawbone by stimulating it through the implants.

Fixed Hybrid Dentures

Fixed hybrid dentures, also known as implant-supported hybrid prostheses, offer a revolutionary solution for replacing a full arch of teeth. These dentures combine the strength and stability of dental implants with the aesthetics of natural-looking teeth. Unlike traditional dentures, fixed hybrid dentures are permanently secured to dental implants and cannot be removed by the patient.

Features and Benefits:

• Stability & Comfort: Fixed hybrid dentures are anchored to four or more implants, eliminating concerns about slipping or shifting.
• Natural Appearance: Designed to look and feel like real teeth, they provide a confident smile and seamless function.
• Bone Preservation: By stimulating the jawbone, the implants help prevent bone loss and maintain facial structure.
• Low Maintenance: These dentures are easy to clean with regular oral hygiene routines, offering long-term durability.
• Custom Design: The prosthetic teeth are crafted with precision for an individualized fit and optimal bite function.

Fixed hybrid dentures are ideal for patients seeking a permanent and highly functional replacement for missing teeth. At Precious Smiles Family Dentistry, we specialize in creating custom hybrid dentures that restore both the aesthetics and function of your smile, ensuring a solution that enhances your quality of life.

Providing integrated solutions to rebuild smiles

Fabricating an attractive, well-fitting, and long-lasting denture requires a comprehensive understanding of oral function, facial aesthetics, dental materials, and appliance design. At the office of Precious Smiles Family Dentistry, we maintain a position at the forefront of advances in care and successfully combine the art and science of dentistry to provide patients with outstanding treatment outcomes.

Once we've had an opportunity to review your medical and dental history, assess all aspects of your smile, and discuss your expectation of care, we'll discuss the best options for restoring and rebuilding your smile.

Based upon a comprehensive analysis of your case, including advanced diagnostic imaging, we'll advise you if any dental work, additional procedures, or extractions are required prior to the fabrication of a partial or complete denture. It's essential that any remaining teeth are healthy and have sufficient bone support. Sometimes, a pre-prosthetic procedure to improve the tissue anatomy and ensure a denture's optimal fit is recommended.

Having a denture or set of dentures made is a sophisticated process involving dental impressions, framework try-ins, selecting the right shade, shape, and size of the artificial teeth, and making sure that the bite and all aspects of oral function are comfortable and healthy. Whether it takes a single visit or a few visits to fabricate a partial or complete denture, a satisfying and healthy outcome relies on the careful execution of every step in care.

What To Expect When You Receive Your New Denture

At the office of Precious Smiles Family Dentistry, our patients' care and comfort are our top priorities. Our goal is to help patients enjoy optimal oral health and to keep them well informed every step of the way.

• Adjusting to wearing a new denture

  Getting used to wearing a new denture, especially a full denture, can take a little time. It's not unusual to need some minor adjustments as you begin to speak, chew, and function with your new teeth. It can take a few adjustments to fit completely and feel comfortable. If you have a sore spot, try to wear the denture at least the day before your adjustment visit. In this way, we can see exactly where we need to relieve the area causing your irritation.

• More saliva than usual

  One of the natural responses to a new denture is for your mouth to produce more saliva. Not to worry, this is only a temporary reaction. The flow of saliva gradually decreases back to a normal level.

• Speaking with ease

  While it may seem challenging to speak clearly at first with a new denture, that feeling will pass within a few days. It's important to keep talking, as usual, to allow yourself to adapt to your new set of teeth. You can help things along by reading some passages from printed materials or a computer out loud.

• Getting used to eating with a denture

  If this is your first denture, it can also take some time to adapt to eating with your new prosthesis. Getting used to eating with a full denture is typically more challenging than doing so with a partial denture. It's best to start with soft foods and to avoid chewing on just one side. Your tongue, lips, cheeks, and soft tissues will soon adapt to chewing with your new denture, and from then on, you'll be able to eat with ease.

• Taking care of your dentures

  • It's essential to keep your denture clean! Rinse your dentures after eating and brush them daily. In this way, you can prevent stains and bacteria from accumulating on your new set of teeth. It helps to use a brush designed for dentures. Also, remember to soak your dentures in water when you're not wearing them and at least once a week in the recommended denture cleaner.

  • Brush any remaining teeth as well as your gums to keep them clean and the tissues healthy and firm. If you wear an upper denture, rinse and gently clean the roof of your mouth as well.

  • Take your dentures out at bedtime. This practice gives the gums and the jawbone a chance to rest, helping to prevent irritation and infection as well as bone resorption (shrinkage).

• Added stability

  Due to the status of the underlying tissues and other factors, there are some cases where full dentures benefit from additional means of retention. While denture adhesive is often sufficient, full dentures that are implant-supported or clip onto special attachments offer added stability and retention.

• Follow-up care

  Maintaining oral health and overall well-being involves routine checkups and care. At these visits, we not only check the fit and condition of your dentures but we also perform a comprehensive exam to check the status of any remaining teeth as well as assess the health of all of the soft and hard tissues in and around the oral cavity.

• Relines

  Over time, the tissues supporting the denture can change. As the shape and contours of these tissues shrink or remodel, your denture may not fit as comfortably or feel as stable as it once did. A separate procedure, which is known as a reline, may be recommended.

At the office of Precious Smiles Family Dentistry, we're dedicated to providing the highest quality of care. If you have any additional questions or concerns about your new dentures, feel free to contact our office.