Dentures

Dentures are blocks of acrylic which are custom molded to fit your mouth after you have all of your teeth extracted. This helps restore some ability to eat, speak, and smile with confidence. They do not, however, bring you back to original function as natural teeth.

Dentures are recommended if you have already had your teeth extracted or if your teeth need to be extracted. Teeth may need to be extracted due to extensive decay, trauma, or periodontal disease. Dentures are used to fill in the space where your teeth used to be. They can aid in esthetics, your ability to talk, and improve your ability to chew.

There are traditional dentures , which can be fabricated after you heal from your teeth being extracted, as well as immediate dentures , which are fabricated and ready to be delivered to you the day your teeth are extracted. There are also implant supported dentures , which aid in retention of your denture, as well as fixed hybrid denture , which is permanently held into your mouth with multiple implants.

Traditional dentures are fabricated after your gums have completely healed after your extractions, usually 8-12 weeks . We can ensure there are no sharp pieces of bones left after healing or any rough areas which would make a denture uncomfortable. We can also fabricate a denture which will fit you very well as you have already had a period of healing. The dentures will be more comfortable to wear and you are less likely to need denture adhesive. You will be completely edentulous (without your teeth) for the entire time you are healing, which will limit which foods you can eat during that time.

Immediate dentures are fabricated before your teeth are extracted and then placed in your mouth immediately after the teeth are removed. These dentures ensure you have teeth in your mouth when you leave the office and act as a temporary denture until you have healed and can have traditional dentures fabricated.

Immediate dentures require several appointments prior to your surgery day. We will also not be able to try in the dentures to ensure they are straight, the correct tooth shape, good bite, etc. This is because you still have teeth in your mouth when the denture is made. This means the immediate denture may not look
perfect.

The immediate dentures will act like a bandage after surgery to help minimize bleeding and swelling. These dentures are made by a lab who is guessing how your bone and gums will look after your teeth are extracted. Because of this, your immediate denture will not fit well. Your immediate denture will require a series of relines to help it stay in your mouth. This denture is temporary and will require a full lab reline or be completely remade within 1 year of your extractions.

After your teeth are extracted, we like for your gums to heal for 8-12 weeks. We usually do a healing check around 8 weeks to make sure there are no sharp spots which would need to be fixed with a minor surgery.

We will then take a series of impressions of your top and bottom ridge. We will then fabricate wax pucks which fit over your ridge and tell our lab where to position the acrylic teeth. We then have a step where we check how the denture fits and functions with the teeth in wax. At this point you can let us know if you are happy with the shape of the teeth and the shade. The final appointment we will deliver your dentures so you can take them home! These steps take time in between for the dental lab to fabricate certain steps. It is typically 5-7 appointments with 1-2 weeks between each appointment.

‍

If having all of your teeth gives you 100% chewing capacity and having no teeth gives you 0% chewing capacity, your traditional dentures will bring that chewing capacity up to 15-20%.

Dentures will not feel or function like normal teeth, and therefore you have to change how you eat, smile, and talk. When you eat, food will need to be cut up into smaller pieces and placed on the back teeth. When you chew, food needs to be on both sides, otherwise the dentures can dislodge.

It is unlikely that you will be able to bite into any food, even soft foods like bananas, as this will dislodge your denture. Front teeth are for looks, back teeth are for chewing! When you first start eating with dentures, continue eating soft foods and slowly add harder foods over time.

Learning how to function with dentures is a very difficult process and different for every individual. Most people become comfortable with their dentures in about 1-2 months. Some patients require 6 months to become truly comfortable.

We do everything we can to fabricate a beautiful and functional denture for you. However, it is well known that the upper denture will have much better suction than the bottom denture . This is because we can create a good seal with the roof of your mouth on the top. Unfortunately, the ridge on the bottom jaw is much narrower and your denture will be competing with your tongue for space, so it is difficult to get a good seal. Lower dentures tend to ‘float’ and become easily displaced.

Ideally we want to make it so that you do not need to use denture adhesive, but it may be required for the lower denture.

You can utilize a small amount of denture adhesive (three dots) to temporarily aid in retention when you eat or have a special social event.

There are more permanent methods to increase your retention which include the placement of implants . A still removable option is implant supported over dentures while a fixed option includes a hybrid denture.

For many patients, the biggest frustration is the lack of suction on the lower denture. We can help with this by transitioning to an implant supported overdenture. This is done by placing two implants in your lower jaw, in the area where your canines used to be. Small attachments are connected to the implants which are then retro-fitted back to your denture. This scenario allows you to ‘snap in’ your dentures with a ball-and-gasket kind of attachment. This greatly increases the retention of your lower denture, however the denture can still come in and out so you can properly clean it.

This option is also available for upper dentures. Two to four implants can be placed on the upper jaw in the same fashion. Doing this allows us to create a U-shaped or horseshoe shaped denture, leaving the roof of your mouth uncovered. This makes chewing more comfortable and can help if you have a significant gag reflex.

Together, implant supported over dentures can improve your chewing capacity up to ~ 40-60%.

In this situation, you still have ‘pink plastic’ in your mouth. They still look like normal dentures and still have to be removed each night.

For a fixed (non-removable) option, you can get something called a fixed hybrid denture. In this scenario, 4 to 6 implants are placed on both the bottom and top jaws. This is sometimes referred to as an ‘All-on-4’ or All-on-X’ technique . We then fabricate a framework out of a metal, usually titanium, which is attached to all of the implants on each ridge. We then place the hybrid denture on top of the framework and screw everything into place. This hybrid denture is usually not made out of acrylic, but a stronger material, such as zirconia. These dentures do not sit on your gums, but actually leave ~2mm of space between the underside of the denture and your gums. These dentures cannot be removed by you as they are screwed into place.

These dentures can greatly increase your chewing capacity and have the greatest patient satisfaction! You can return to normal chewing functions, including biting into food (such as apples and steak) with the knowledge that your denture will not dislodge or fall out.