What Are Dentures and Are They Good for You?

We only have one set of permanent natural teeth. When your tooth is extracted or knocked out in an accident, you can only replace it with a temporary one. You have three primary options; dental implants, bridges, and dentures. Most patients opt for dentures because they are cheaper and less invasive.

If you’re considering dentures, you might have heard rumors that dentures will hurt, are uncomfortable, look fake, you can’t eat certain foods, or even worse, they can slip off suddenly when eating or speaking. These problems can happen if your dentures are ill-fitting or damaged. However, if you get your denture from a skilled dentist and take good care of them, you won’t experience such issues.

What are Dentures?

Dentures are removable dental appliances that contain artificial teeth. Partial and full dentures are the most common types of dentures. As the name suggests, partial dentures replace one or a few missing teeth. Alternatively, complete dentures replace the entire set of teeth. The dentist takes images and molds of your gums, teeth, and mouth to create a customized denture when getting dentures. It ensures a comfortable, natural-looking, and effective solution for missing teeth.

Benefits of Dentures

Dental patients who use dentures enjoy numerous benefits, including:

• Improved appearance

Missing teeth can make you feel insecure or reluctant to open your mouth. Dentures can give you a reason to smile again. These artificial teeth are customized to mimic your natural teeth’ color, size, and shape.

Similarly, lost teeth can cause jawbone deterioration and cause the facial muscles to collapse. It can impair your facial appearance leading to sunken cheeks, facial sagging, wrinkles, and premature aging. Dentures can help maintain your facial muscles and shape, giving you a youthful and natural smile.

• Customized for comfort

Ill-fitting dentures can harm your teeth, gums, tongue, cheeks, and jawbone. Besides, they can slip off and cause difficulties chewing and speaking normally. Your dentures are customized according to the structure of your mouth. The dentist takes your gums and teeth molds and creates a replica of them. If the dentures loosen with time, maybe due to old age, the dentist can make you a new pair of dentures.

• Improved bite and speech functions

You are likely to experience difficulties eating and speaking if you’ve lost some of your natural teeth. With high-quality dentures, you can bid goodbye to speech and bite impairment. You’ll be able to speak clearly and confidently. Also, you can go back to enjoying a balanced diet since your diet is no longer limited to soft foods.

Still, proper dental habits are essential to maintain your dentures. Avoid hard, crunchy, and sticky items as they can damage dentures. It’s also worth noting that you might experience chewing and speaking problems immediately after getting dentures. However, this only lasts for a few days. For this reason, go for easy-to-chew foods until you get used to wearing dentures.

• Easy to clean and maintain

Unlike bridges and implants, dentures are removable. You can remove them as needed when brushing your teeth or cleaning them. Use a soft-bristled toothbrush and a special denture cleaner to clean your dentures. You should also deep clean them by soaking them overnight with a denture solution. If your denture gets damaged, notify your dentist immediately for a replacement.

• Improved oral health

Lost teeth can increase the risk of gum disease, decay on natural teeth, and further tooth loss. Since they restore your oral functions, they help reduce the risk of oral issues. Implant-supported dentures can help prevent jawbone degradation.

• Boost self-confidence and quality of life

Missing teeth can ruin your oral and facial appearance. When you replace missing teeth with dentures, your aesthetics and facial muscles are improved, giving you a natural, youthful, and bright smile. A beautiful smile will make you feel good about yourself, thereby restoring your confidence and quality of life.

Schedule an Appointment Today

For more information about dentures treatments, contact Raynham Dental Group, the Office of Dr. Michael Scanlon.