South Tulsa Dentures
What Are Dentures?
Dentures are artificial gums and teeth that are custom designed and fitted to a patient’s mouth to take the place of removed or lost natural teeth. Full dentures can replace all of the teeth, or partial dentures can replace a smaller amount if needed.
No matter what kind of dentures are required, they will be designed especially for the mouth of each patient and will be made to match any surrounding teeth visually.
What Are The Benefits Of Dentures?
Some of the many benefits of dental dentures are that:
They Give You A Confident Smile —
When a patient starts losing teeth, it never usually happens overnight. Over long periods, and after enough teeth have gone missing, many people will get less and less confident in their smile, and experience different levels of self-consciousness and embarrassment about the way they look.
Thankfully, dentures can restore your natural smile so that you don’t have to worry about closed-mouthed smiles, close-proximity conversations or open laughter. Because technology has advanced so much in recent years, dentures can appear very natural and not draw attention to themselves.
They Help Preserve Your Facial Structure —
The way our face is structured is strongly impacted by the way our teeth are laid out in our mouths. If someone is missing some or a lot of their teeth, the bone structure of the entire face can be affected and this changes the way we look.
Dentures can help restore the face to the way it was originally intended to be. When they are being designed by the prosthodontist, they will be very careful to protect and preserve the structure of your face first and foremost.
They Help You Enjoy Everyday Life —
When you are missing a couple or quite a few teeth, you will find that you won’t be able to enjoy the kinds of food that you normally would.
Dentures that are fitted will allow you to eat all of the foods you want without the normal frustration or pain that you feel so regularly so that you can get back to enjoying your everyday life.
What Kind Of Dentures Are There?
Different kinds of dental dentures are chosen for a patient depending on the individual needs of each patient. These include the following:
1. Traditional Full Dentures
These kinds of dentures are chosen for the patients that need to replace all of their teeth. They are designed to rest on top of the patient’s gums instead of sitting on the dental bridges that have been secured to any surrounding teeth.
Partial Dentures are made from acrylic materials and are generally used when some of the natural teeth of the patient are still in place, like when a couple of teeth are still in the upper or lower quadrant.
While this type of denture helps keep other teeth from moving around, it is still removable and convenient for any time you need to take them out at a moment’s notice.
3. Snap-In Dentures
Snap-in dentures are a very stable option and are held firmly in place because they are anchored to existing teeth. What sets these dentures apart are locator attachments that snap onto locator receptors or implants to make them more convenient and easily removable.
These are great if you don’t have any other natural teeth and still have plenty of bone for support and implant.
4. Economy Dentures
These types of dentures are most certainly the cheapest kind of denture that is available, and this is because they are generic. Because they are generic, they are not as comfortable and don’t always fit in the mouth the way that they’re supposed to.
Denture adhesive is generally needed to ensure any kind of a secure fit, so it is a good idea to explore other available options.
5. Custom Dentures
Custom Dentures, unlike economy dentures, are made of much more expensive teeth. This means that the result is a much more natural smile. A lot of work is put in to make sure this denture is matched to the patient’s smile so that little to no difference is noticed.
6. Upper Dentures
This kind of denture is designed specifically for the upper teeth. If a patient is missing many teeth in the upper part of the jaw, upper dentures are the perfect solution.
7. Implant-Supported Dentures
Implant-Supported Dentures are installed by using a dental implant that is securely installed to help support the denture. As an added benefit, the dental implant is extremely durable and looks completely natural.
8. Overdentures
This type of denture rests directly on top of the gums and is secured firmly into place using dental implants. Overdentures can be used on both the lower and upper jaw depending on what the individual needs of the patient are.
As an added benefit, these dentures are completely removable for the convenience of the patient.
9. Immediate Dentures
Immediate dentures can be installed on the same day that teeth are removed or extracted, but there are very specific requirements for being a good candidate for this kind of denture.
What Is A Dental Denture Procedure Like?
When a patient comes in for their first appointment for dentures, the dentist will take time to look at their supporting bone structure and gums to determine the treatment plan that they should be on.
In some situations, there may need to be oral surgery to fix any bony ridges that will get in the way of installing the denture securely, or there might be some teeth that still need to be extracted before the treatment can go on any further.
After the dentist has decided that dentures are the correct course of action for a patient, they will take an impression of your gums to get a good picture of every crevice and ridge to get the best possible fit.
After the patient’s gums are in a healthy condition and enough time has passed for proper healing, the finished dentures will replace the teeth in the patient’s mouth. Over the next 6 – 12 months, changes and adjustments will be made to ensure the best possible fit over time.