Dentures are removable replacement (false) teeth that mainly
are supported in your mouth by remaining teeth you
may still have and your upper and/or lower jaw bone and gums.
Dentures can be: Upper or Lower
Full - no remaining teeth in that arch and are held in place by the fit of the denture to the soft tissue (gums) and remaining underlying bone that over time disappears
Partial - some remaining teeth in that arch and kept in place by hooks or clasps made of acrylic (metal free) or metal (usually vitallium that can affect one's immune system)
Over-dentures are made over remaining teeth or implants that help keep the denture in place by using various attachments or clips fused to the underside of the denture
Dentures can have different shades to customize your gum color
They can be made with hard acrylic or soft flexible (more comfortable) acrylic
Denture teeth are placed in the acrylic and can be made of:porcelain but is hard and click when teeth touch and break out easier or acrylic that is softer, more comfortable but may wear with time
Dentures do become loose after time due to the supporting boney changes that occur as one gets older. Many must wear an adhesive
If that doesn't help but you still have enough bone support, a reline (hard or soft) will improve the fit from the supporting bone loss. With too much bone loss the only way to stabilize a denture is with implants (over-denture). Once the denture that clips to the implant is stable, you can eat decent food again, smile easily and talk with comfort.
Sometimes, to place implants, surgery is necessary to build up the bone defects before placing the implants. A CT Cone Beam as we have helps determine these possibilities for you.
The struggle during this time is giving you something to wear so you can smile when you go out. Remember, the longer you wait to do implants for your dentures, the harder it will be to have a sucessful outcome
Additional onsiderations for quality,
functional, comfortable new dentures
Issues with all dentures is a change in facial features. That is why we do "FACE-LIFT " dentures that take into account nose/chin distance, upper and lower lip support, smile line, speech (especially "F" and "S" sounds) that change, after you lose teeth
Most bargain basement dentures do not take most of the above into consideration
Tissue health is critical to getting a good fitting new denture or reline. If there are sore areas, irritated growths, ulcers or other issues, a healing phase is needed where we place weekly soft medicated liners in your current denture to aid in healing supporting gums for a quality impression for the new denture. The number of weeks depends on your tissue health.
Other considerations that need to be considered are infections, covered over old root pieces still present, your health history which may include degenerative diseases, diabetes, heart disease, gag reflex, shape of the roof of your mouth, size of your tongue and more.
Grinding and clenching just destroys denture teeth. Commonly, sleep apnea is a major issue so if you use a c-pap or bi-pap other considerations and options need addressing
Broken dentures are common in bruxers and clenchers and the new denture may best be made with a metal reinforcement of some type
Conclusion
So losing your teeth, earlier or later in life, is not without consequences. For whatever reason they are lost, reconstructing your ability to chew, smile, speak, and/or look younger is possible in most cases. The fees are related to what is still there to work with, what result you wish to achieve and your budget.
