What Are Dentures
A denture is an appliance which replaces lost or missing teeth with artificial teeth. Dentures can be made of an acrylic or metal substructure with acrylic or porcelain teeth.
In order to make a denture the dentist takes an impression of the jaw and any remaining teeth using a special flexible material. Colour and shape of artificial teeth is determined and the relationship between the upper and lower jaws is also determined.
Adjusting to New Dentures
- Comfort: Allow yourself time to get used to a new denture, even if you have worn one before.
- Eating: Avoid eating sticky, sharp or hard foods. If you have not worn a denture before your gums may feel sore as they adjust to their new roles in eating. Cut food into small pieces and try to chew on both sides of the mouth at the same time. Start out with soft food and add other foods as you learn to adjust.
- Speech: Your tongue and cheek muscles will need time to get used to holding your denture in place as you speak. Try practicing infront of a mirror. Initially you may produce lots of saliva but this will subside as your mouth gets use to the denture. If your dentures “click” when you talk try talking more slowly.
- Soreness: If soreness occurs call the dentist for an appointment. You may need to leave your denture out if the soreness is excessive but you will need to place the denture back of half a day before the dental appointment or we will not be able to see where the sore area is in your mouth to adjust your denture.
Denture cleaning and maintenance
- Cleaning: You need to continue cleaning your denture and gums. A soft tooth brush or cloth will be useful for cleaning both. Clean your dentures after each meal. Don’t use abrasives or strong chemicals or hot water.
- Breakage: Dentures are easy to break if dropped. Always be very careful when you take them out to clean them. Stand over a folded towel or basin of water when removing and handling the dentures. Don’t glue broken pieces of dentures back together as this can damage the denture and may make it impossible to repair.
- Rest: We will advise you on what is best for your individual circumstances but often it is best to leave dentures out at night to allow your gums to rest. Initially with a new denture you will probably be advised to leave the denture in all the time so you get use to it. When you leave your dentures out, place them in water so they don’t dry. Dentures that are allowed to dry up may warp(change shape).
- Denture adhesive: A denture adhesive can provide additional retention for well-fitting dentures. A poorly fitting dentures will cause problems so see the dentist if your denture doesn’t fit well.
- Denture Replacement: Your mouth will change naturally over time. Bone and gums can shrink or recede and your jaws may align differently. A new denture can improve facial features and comfort.
- Dental appointments: Regular check ups are still important with dentures and are most important if you have a partial denture.
Immediate dentures
This is a denture inserted in the same appointment as the removal of teeth. In order to allow this to occur the dentist needs to take moulds of the mouth in a previous visit.
The advantage of this denture is that the wearer doesn’t have to go without teeth after teeth are removed. The disadvantage is that bone and gums shrink over time, especially in the initial 3 months after teeth removal. The shrinkage will result in the denture becoming less well fitting and usually the denture will need to have its fitting surface “relined” or “rebased” after this period of time.
