WHAT ARE DENTURES?

A denture is a removable appliance that is custom fabricated for the patient to replace missing teeth. The materials used are made of acrylic resins alone or in conjunction with various metals. A partial denture replaces some teeth where the patient has some remaining permanent teeth. A complete or full denture replaces all teeth. An immediate denture, whether complete or partial, involves placing the appliance the same day the teeth are removed.

REMOVABLE PARTIAL DENTURES
Removable partial dentures are plastic and metal appliances made to replace one or more teeth, or gum, or bone tissue. They are an alternative to a fixed partial denture (bridge).

Removable partial dentures are designed to rest on your teeth and gums. Teeth must be slightly prepared with grooves to receive the partial denture. Old fillings should be replaced or new crowns made to help support the partial denture. To stay in place, the partial denture must be attached with metal clasps to teeth on both sides of the mouth. You should understand that these clasps would be visible. Attachments can be made in crowns to retain the partial and prevent the showing of gaps.

A thin metal plate will connect one side of the jaw to the other. The plate may interfere with speech and may be noticeable to the tongue during eating. After a partial denture is placed, there is a period of adjustment when you may have sore spots that the doctor will adjust. A partial denture can hold bacteria against the teeth and gums, so it is also very important to clean the teeth and denture thoroughly, and to remove the denture at night. If the teeth are not kept clean, they will decay and/or gum disease will occur.

Length Of Service Of A Partial Denture. Most partial dentures will need the plastic bases refitted or relined to the gums after 1 to 5 years as the gums naturally recede. Most partial dentures will need to be remade within five to ten years. Failure can occur sooner as a result of decay or gum disease related to poor plaque control. Fracture of the clasps, teeth, or fillings can result from heavy or hard biting, or dropping of the denture.

Alternatives To Partial Dentures:

1. A fixed bridge - providing there are terminal abutments available.
2. Implants and crown(s) or bridge(s) as indicated.
3. Remove the teeth and have a complete denture.
4. No treatment.

COMPLETE DENTURES
A complete denture is a denture that replaces all the missing teeth in one jaw. The amount and shape of your jawbone may determine how tight the denture is, how it feels, chews and looks. The best effort will be made to give you the best possible retention, comfort and appearance for your mouth and ridges but you may not have ridges that will allow you to have a "tight" denture.

There will be one or more try-ins to assure that you like the way the teeth look before they are completed.

After a denture is placed, there is a period of adjustment when you may have sore spots that the Dentist will adjust. Your taste may be altered. Upon completion of any adjustments you will be placed on a recall system where you are seen once a year to check your mouth. Most dentures will need to be relined at some time and probably remade after five to ten years.

IMMEDIATE DENTURES
An immediate denture is a denture that is inserted immediately upon extraction of your remaining teeth. The fit, appearance and comfort of such dentures are very difficult to predict. There is no way that teeth can be fitted in advance to show you what the denture will look like, what the bite will be like, or how they will fit. Every effort will be made to duplicate or improve upon the position of your natural teeth, but if the immediate denture is not quite what you had expected you may have a second denture made after the tissues healed completely. Immediate dentures often require tissue conditioning or temporary liners during the healing process as the natural process of gum and bone shrinking takes place.

OVERDENTURES
Overdentures are dentures that are made over the roots of remaining teeth. Overdentures tend to be slightly more bulky but have the advantages of better stability, natural feeling and better chewing and speaking than complete dentures. Overdentures require root canal fillings in the remaining teeth. In addition, these teeth may sometimes have attachments that could improve the retention of your denture.

A risk of overdentures is decay to the roots of the remaining teeth. You must place a fluoride gel in the denture everyday in the area where the roots are. You will be recalled every three to six months so that the overdenture supporting teeth may be cleaned and so that you may have your fluoride supply replenished.

For more information http://www.ada.org/public/topics/alpha.asp