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Dentures

A denture is the removable prosthesis that fills in the missing teeth.

There are two types of dentures:

  • a full denture for cases where all the teeth in a jaw are missing. The full denture rests on your gums, and
  • the partial denture, which is used when there are still some teeth left to serve as supports. The partial denture is retained on teeth and is supported by your teeth and gums.

If you are losing every last tooth in your mouth and don’t want to go a single moment without teeth, an immediate denture may be for you.

Immediate, is the name given to a denture that is made before the tooth extraction and placed in the mouth at the same appointment as the tooth extraction.

In our practice, the full denture that is made when a patient is about to lose the last of his or her front teeth is always an immediate denture.

Patients with immediate dentures can talk, eat and smile from the moment their last teeth are extracted, as they are not left without teeth for a single moment.

Immediate dentures allow us to copy the characteristics of natural teeth, such as their shape, position and colour, if we wish.

When they are placed in the mouth immediately after the last teeth have been extracted, it is hard to notice the difference in your smile and facial appearance

Another useful solution is an overdenture.

Overdentures are attached to the roots of your teeth with small attachments.

If you still have a few teeth in your mouth with a moderate prognosis, we can cut them at the gum level and insert a mechanism that holds the denture in place and makes it more stable.

After a period of time, when the teeth are gone, the denture remains the same and although it has more mobility, you can use it easily because you have got used to it in your mouth.

We can also provide overdentures on dental implants, to improve the performance of a full denture.

 

DENTURE CASES FROM OUR CLINIC

Use the arrow to the right, for more photos and information on dentures.
After

Full upper and lower denture, placed in the mouth.

The teeth are ideally occluded, the vertical dimension of the face is restored and enhances the natural features of the face.

Before

A denture must be in harmony with the patient’s facial features.

The choice of teeth, both in colour and shape, is made according to the patient’s age, so that the prosthesis matches the face and gives a natural result.

Smile of a patient with dentures
After

A full prosthesis supports the lips and gives the face the correct height.

With a proper full denture, the face is ” filled in “.

Before

When teeth are lost, facial features change.

The lips become thin, the height of the face decreases, and the more years that have gone by since the loss of teeth, the more pronounced these changes become.

After

With the right denture, not only is the lip supported properly, but the relationship between the upper and lower lip is significantly improved.

This is because the jaw does not “slip” forward because it is supported by teeth and thus the profile of the face is normal.

Before

The lack of teeth changes the face on many levels.

Here you can see the loss of lip support in profile.

Improving facial features with dentures
After

A immediate denture is prefabricated and delivered at the same appointment as the tooth extraction.

We can even choose teeth to match the teeth you already have in your mouth so that the change is not obvious.

Before

The patient in the photo had a fixed bridge in her upper jaw which had to be removed because the teeth were decayed.

For social reasons, she could not be left without teeth for a moment.

Immediate dentures are the best solution in such a situation.

After

A denture that is placed in the mouth immediately after the extraction of natural teeth reduces emotional stress and makes the transition smoother.

Before

We see the fixed bridge that the patient brought with her before her teeth were extracted.

The transition from teeth to dentures is often emotionally loaded.

Immediate denture
After

The lower denture is metal-reinforced and is held by two teeth to ensure it remains stable.

Before

The denture in the photo hides a secret in the lower jaw.

After

The denture has plastic attachments on the inside so that it ‘snaps’ onto the natural teeth and is held in place.

If there are no natural teeth, we can make a denture on dental implants.

Before

The patient’s canines, the last two teeth left in her mouth, were treated endodontically and covered with a special attachment onto which the prosthesis ‘snaps’.

Overdenture on teeth
After

With a new denture that fits properly, the lip is better supported and the physiognomic features are enhanced.

A properly fitted denture rejuvenates the face.

Before

Many people use the same denture for many years.

However, the denture needs to be changed every 5 years or so to reflect changes in the mouth.

Here, the appearance of the face with the old denture has been affected.

Denture replacement
Questions
  1. Will I get used to my new dentures?

    New dentures are difficult for all patients at first.

    They move in the mouth and you have to learn to speak and eat with them.

    But as the tongue and facial muscles become accustomed to their presence, using them becomes easier.

    Many of our patients function wonderfully with their dentures, and feel that they are just like their own teeth.

    However, there are people who need more stability and retention to feel confident, and some who cannot get used to the idea of dentures moving in their mouth.

    In these cases, dental implant solutions can help.

  2. What is the difference between a simple denture and an immediate denture?

    Normally, when we want to make a denture, we wait for the extraction sites to heal.

    In the past, patients would wait up to 6 months for a denture to be made.

    Nowadays, no one wants to be seen without their teeth.

    Immediate dentures are the solution to this problem.

    Immediate dentures are called immediate, because they are placed in the mouth at the appointment when the teeth are extracted.

  3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of an immediate denture?

    Advantages of immediate dentures:

    • Patients are not without teeth for a minute.
    • Facial features are not altered.
    • The dentist uses the characteristics of the natural teeth (colour, shape, size) that were present in the mouth to create a denture that closely resembles the previous condition and is hardly noticed by others.

    Disadvantages of immediate dentures:

    • The denture may need to be filled immediately after tooth extraction.
    • Usually, after 6 months, the retention is not satisfactory because bone resorption has taken place in the areas where the teeth were extracted. The problem can be easily solved by (filling) the denture.
    • The patient can only see the denture when it is finished.

  4. Is it difficult to get the teeth out and the dentures in, at the same appointment?

    Technically it is not difficult, either for the dentist or for the patient.

    If there are a lot of teeth to be extracted, we start the treatment by extracting the teeth in the back of the mouth that are less important aesthetically.

    This reduces the number of teeth to be extracted at the last minute and the adjustment is gentler.

    There is absolutely no reason why you should not prefer an immediate denture, as long as your dentist is familiar with the technique.

    In our practice, all the dentures we make for patients who are losing their last natural front teeth are immediate dentures.

Videos
See more videos on the clinic's YouTube channel @DentArtistry
Getting a denture? Learn important information
Don't want to go a minute without your teeth?