Important things you need to know about Dentures

Due to physical injuries, many people lose one or more teeth. Similarly, tooth extraction process is also done by Dental Health Professionals to prevent various dental diseases. Replacing such extracted, missing or lost tooth is essential to maintain a contact with the arch. Otherwise, it the empty space leads to various problems like losing adjacent teeth, mobility, gum diseases, etc.

Dentures provide a viable solution to fill the gap and replace the lost teeth. Apart from replacing the missing teeth, the false teeth you get through dentures will help you to regain the beautiful smile.

Types of Dentures

In general, Dentures are classified as below:

• Partial Dentures
• Full Dentures
• Fixed Dentures

Partial Dentures

It consists of artificial, replaceable teeth with gum-like pink colored plastic or acrylic base to hold it in the mouth.

Partial dentures are utilized in conditions when the wearer does not lose all of his/her natural teeth, two or more teeth are missing and in cases of surrounding teeth does not have the strength to support the dental structures.

Full Dentures (or) Compete Dentures

Full Dentures are used when the wearer has lost all his/her natural teeth. It includes two set of custom-made dentures for both upper and lower jaw.

The upper dentures consist of a plate to hold the denture on the roof of our mouth while the lower denture is horse shaped with an acrylic base to hold with the gum line.

Fixed Dentures

Fixed dentures are non-removable dentures. They require titanium support and surgical procedures to fix the false teeth. With the implant support, the implantologist can fix dental bridges, dental implant or implant support fixed dentures to replace the missing tooth or teeth.

As this procedure requires, titanium made implant abutments, it is also termed as “Implant-retained Dentures”.

Things to know before wearing Dentures

If you have planned to wear dentures, you need to know the following things which will help you to extend the durability of your false teeth.

• In the initial stage of wearing dentures, you feel certain discomfort levels in speaking and eating. Hence it is important to wear the denture constantly for many hours without removing for the first few days.
• Once you feel flexible with the denture, it is better to remove the dentures at times to give relief to your gums. It is better to remove your denture before going to bed.
• Similar to natural teeth, dentures also have a risk of stained or discolored. Drinks like red wine, tea, coffee are highly effective to discolor the dentures. Hence it is mandatory to limit the consumption of such caffeinated products.
• When you notice your denture becomes weaken or any other issues, visit your dentist. Don’t try to repair the denture yourself. If you repair the denture without any medical accessories, the plate or strip may bend and loosen the denture.
• Place the denture in a glass of water at times when you are not wearing the denture. You should always keep your denture in wet condition.
• As the dentures are delicate, they will break or crack if they fall down. Hence fold the denture with a towel when taking the denture out of your mouth.

Tips to clean your dentures

Dental hygiene is important for your denture as well as the natural teeth. Your denture will last for more than a decade if you properly maintain and clean it.

The important denture cleaning tips suggested by our dentists are as follows:

• Use a soft-bristled toothbrush and a non-abrasive toothpaste to brush your denture. This is because abrasive toothpaste may scratch and damage the denture.
• Brush and clean your adjacent teeth and gum lines before wearing the dentures.
• Don’t forget to rinse and swish the denture before wear it in your mouth. Similarly, rinse well the denture after having meals.
• Use cold water to clean the denture because hot water will warp the dentures.
• Daily soaking is essential to exhaust the germs and bacteria present in the dentures. Place the denture for 3 -5 minutes in a cleansing solution. Then brush and rinse the denture. It will remove the bacteria in the denture. Similarly, you can use the cleansing solution to place the denture at night.

Conclusion

Even dentures help you to restore your lost tooth and your beautiful smile, they are not sturdy as the natural teeth. Hence you need to take care of the dentures and stay away from habits like biting hard substances using dentures.