Full vs. Partial Dentures
Dentures and partials are removable dental appliances designed for people who are missing all or most of their natural teeth. To provide a beautiful and natural-looking smile, we will customize your dentures or partials to look, feel, and function like your real teeth and gums. Both treatments can help you achieve an attractive smile, and they will also alleviate problems associated with missing teeth like difficulty chewing and speaking.
Keen Smiles will create, place, and make adjustments to your custom dentures or partial. A complete denture is used when all of the teeth are missing, and a partial denture is used when some natural teeth remain. The partial denture will feature replacement teeth attached to a gum-colored base, and it typically comes with a metal framework to ensure that it stays in place.
When your dentures are complete, you will be thrilled to enjoy the benefits of a full and healthy smile once again.
How It Works
Your denture (whether partial or full) will be created after the doctor has made an impression of your jaw and/or teeth. To ensure that the denture is functional and comfortable, we will form it with precise measurements and adjustments. You may need to try several model dentures before your final denture is created, and even after the final denture arrives, adjustments may be necessary.
At the start, we will give you instructions regarding how long to wear and how long to remove your dentures. We may ask that you keep in the dentures all night, to quickly identify problem areas, until the dentures are comfortable and properly fitted. After this adjustment period you will remove them each night before bed, so that the dentures can be cleaned and your mouth can rest. We will also provide instructions for how to clean and care for your dentures to ensure that they remain clean, durable, and effective for years to come.
In some circumstances, a denture adhesive may be considered. However, don’t purchase adhesives until the doctor has finished adjusting and correcting your dentures; adhesives should never be used to “correct” poorly constructed dentures. For a more secure restoration of your smile, you may want to consider anchoring your dentures on dental implants. We would be happy to discuss this option with you.
Getting Used to New Dentures
If you’ve never had dentures before, understand that they may feel odd, loose, or uncomfortable at first. The muscles in your cheeks and tongue will naturally learn how to accommodate the dentures, and you may notice an increase in saliva (which will decrease over time). Your mouth may become sore or irritated as well, but these side effects will fade away as your body adjusts to your new dentures.
In addition, you will need to learn how to eat with your dentures. Practice chewing slowly, start with soft meals, and avoid extremely tough or sticky foods (like gum and caramel). As you become used to your dentures, you can introduce harder foods to your diet.
Finally, practice speaking. Until you become accustomed to your dentures, certain words may be more difficult to pronounce. Again, this side effect will diminish as you continue speaking and practicing.
