Full & Partial Dentures – Carrollton, TX

Effects of Missing Teeth

There are several reasons why you end up with missing teeth. According to the American College of Prosthodontists, some common causes include tooth decay, gum disease, and oral injury. Keep in mind that certain systemic conditions (usually inherited disorders) can also result in tooth loss.

It’s incredibly important to replace the gaps in your smile. Otherwise, you could experience several negative consequences like facial sagging, difficulty speaking, trouble eating, and lower self-esteem. Your natural teeth may even shift to fill an empty space, or your jawbone could start to deteriorate.

What Qualifies You for Dentures?

Dentures are an excellent option for patients who have experienced significant tooth loss or have sensitive teeth. It has helped countless people achieve a complete and fully functioning smile. However, you must be committed to your dental health routine and be willing to properly care for your dentures and smile.

To ensure successful results, you must have adequate bone density and a healthy jawbone. This will ensure your implants last as long as possible. Additionally, the number of teeth you’re missing can determine which type of denture is right for you. Depending on your situation, you may benefit from full dentures, partial dentures, and implant dentures.

Alternative Tooth-Replacement Options

If you’re not a good candidate for dentures, you can still explore other tooth-replacement options. For example, some popular solutions we offer include:

• Dental Bridges: Patients missing one or more consecutive teeth may want to consider getting a dental bridge. You only need to have healthy teeth adjacent to the gap in your smile. With proper maintenance, you can expect your newly rebuilt grin to last around 10-15 years.
• Dental Implants: This option is considered the gold standard of tooth replacement, mainly because it’s the most durable and natural-looking solution. It replaces the entire structure of missing teeth from the root up to the visible chewing portion. Unlike other methods, dental implants can last a lifetime with minimal care.

Learn More About Dental Bridges

Learn More About Dental Implants

What Are Dentures Made Of?

The base of a denture and the artificial teeth are the two components that make up a custom-made denture. Here’s a brief explanation of each:

• Denture Base: Your denture base is considered the foundation for your new smile. Supporting the artificial teeth that are secured on top, it is usually crafted from acrylic, nylon, or resin. Acrylic is the most popular option because of how it can be fabricated to match your existing gum color. If you require a partial denture, metal or plastic clasps will be attached to the base to ensure it attaches to healthy teeth when put into place.
• Artificial Teeth: The artificial teeth are commonly made from resin or porcelain and attached to the denture base. Delivering a natural-looking appearance, they are highly durable, so you can eat, speak, and smile with greater confidence.

The Denture Creation Process

Creating your dentures is a multi-step process that cannot be rushed. Lab technicians pay careful attention to the details and specifications required to fabricate your new set of teeth, so each step must be closely followed to ensure a proper fit.

It begins with our team taking impressions of your gums as well as measurements of your jawbone. This creates the model that will be used by technicians to create a wax replica. After placing artificial teeth within an articulator that attaches each tooth with wax, minor adjustments are made before the wax dentures are returned to our dental office.

After a formal filling, we will send them back to the lab for completion. Technicians will boil the dentures in a flask of hot water, melting the wax before small holes are created and acrylic is injected into the flask.

Once the plaster is removed from your dentures, they are placed in an ultrasonic bath before excess plaster and acrylic are cut away.

Providing a final polish, the dentures will be sent back to our office so that you can finally receive your customized set of teeth.

Adjusting to Your New Dentures

It is completely normal to experience some minor discomfort immediately following the placement of your dentures. Your mouth will need to adjust to the newness of your prosthetics, which means you may need to eat soft foods and speak slowly initially. By integrating denser foods carefully, you can begin to eat normally. Also, by reading aloud and taking your time to pronounce more difficult words and sounds, you’ll notice that your speech improves more quickly over time.

Psychological Benefits

People who don’t have teeth often have difficulty accepting their tooth loss. This can lead to sadness and even depression. People who are insecure about tooth loss are less likely to engage in social activities due to low self-esteem. When one restores their smile with dentures, they are likely to experience increased confidence and self-esteem. Dentures can also reduce anxieties about appearance, speech articulation, chewing ability, and more!

Clearer Enunciation

Missing teeth can make it very difficult to speak clearly. When you pronounce and perform words, your lips and tongue need to be positioned properly. If you are unable to touch your tongue to your teeth, some words can be very difficult to say clearly. Because dentures act like your missing teeth, they allow you to enunciate more clearly while speaking. After just a short adjustment period, you will be talking just like you did before.

Improves Nutrition

Many nutritious foods are tough in texture – including vegetables, fruits, and healthy proteins. When you can’t chew your food thoroughly thanks to tooth loss, you can experience issues like indigestion and malnutrition. With a new and improved ability to chew, dentures allow for a more expansive diet full of nutritious foods. In the end, dentures can help the body to receive essential nutrients needed for optimal overall health.

Preserves Oral Health

If you still have some remaining natural teeth, getting dentures can keep them from shifting around to other areas of the mouth. Dentures can also bear the weight of chewing, reducing the wear and tear of your existing teeth.

Expands Opportunity

Your smile is one of the first things that people notice about you. When it comes to job interviews, sales, and getting promotions, it is crucial to make an excellent first impression. Having a beautiful, complete smile is certainly an advantage!

Removable Dentures

Typically, non-implant-retained dentures should be replaced between every five to seven years due to your mouth constantly changing shape. In between replacements, minor adjustments may become necessary to keep these restorations fitting perfectly and staying comfortable in your mouth.

If you have any questions about denture maintenance, don’t hesitate to call us and ask! We’ll be more than happy to help you easily adjust to your new restorations.

Remove After Eating

To keep them in great shape, you’ll also want to remember to remove and rinse them after each time you eat. Bits of food can not only encourage bacterial growth, but also get lodged between your denture and gums. Excuse yourself after meals to get rid of food debris—you’ll feel much better afterward.

Clean Your Restoration

Be sure to clean your dentures every day by gently soaking and brushing them with a denture brush and cleanser to clear them of food and plaque. If you skip this essential step, harmful bacteria can grow on your dentures, paving the way for gum disease or another infection. Fortunately, it doesn’t require a ton of effort or time, but you do need to make sure to follow this step.

Keep Your Dentures Safe

While handling your dentures out of your mouth, be sure that your dentures are safe. Dropping them, for example, can damage them or make them uncomfortable. When you clean your dentures, do not use hot water because it can warp the acrylic and change how they fit in your mouth.

Remove Dentures When You Sleep

Be sure to soak your dentures overnight, unless otherwise instructed, so they keep their shape. You may be tempted to simply keep them in your mouth, but your saliva production slows down while you sleep. Without moisture, your dentures can not only slightly warp, but they can also have more bacterial growth than when they are properly moisturized.

Notice Changes

Although it won’t happen overnight, the way your dentures fit will change because your upper and lower arches change. Try to pay attention to these little changes and let us know about them. We can adjust your dentures so that they stay comfortable and functional throughout your time wearing them. If you ignore these changes, they will only get more drastic, which could accelerate the need for a replacement denture.

Factors That Affect the Cost of Dentures

Your dentures will be custom-designed to fit and match your specific smile. That’s why you won’t expect a set price for your restorations. By scheduling an initial consultation with us, we’ll examine your situation and provide an estimate of what you’ll likely pay for your treatment so that there are no surprises in your bill. The cost of your dentures will depend on several factors, including:

• The severity of your tooth loss.
• The materials used to construct your restorations, such as acrylic or porcelain.
• The need for preliminary dental treatments, like periodontal therapy or tooth extractions.

Are Implant Dentures More Expensive?

Implant dentures require oral surgery, so you’ll likely expect a higher initial price for this kind of restoration. That said, it’s important to remember the crucial benefits that come from this state-of-the-art tooth replacement solution. Since the dental implants will be embedded in your jawbone, you can expect them to last 20 years or more while preserving your facial structure and any remaining teeth. This can save you more money in the long run, as you won’t need frequent adjustments or replacements.

Does Dental Insurance Cover Dentures?

Since dentures are an essential treatment for restoring and preserving your dental health, many insurance providers can cover at least a portion of the cost. Each policy can vary from person to person, so you should double-check the details of your plan with your provider before committing to anything. You can also contact our knowledgeable team so that we can help you navigate your dental insurance policy and make the most of your benefits!

Other Options for Making Dentures Affordable

Don’t have dental insurance? That’s okay! Our office is proud to offer alternative payment options with CareCredit. With this third-party financing company, patients may be able to choose plans that split up the cost of dentures into monthly installments for a budget-friendly treatment. On top of that, many of these options have little-to-no interest! Regardless of the severity of your tooth loss, you don’t have to let the price stop you from getting the restorations you need for a full smile.

Can I Get Dentures Right After Having My Teeth Extracted?

If you need to have one or more teeth extracted, you’ll typically need to wait between six and eight weeks before you can be fitted with dentures. This gives your gums and soft tissues a chance to heal before supporting your new restoration. If you’re interested in implant dentures, sometimes you can have your dental implants placed right after having your teeth extracted. However, you’ll need to wait three to six months to complete the healing process and get your implant denture.

Will Dentures Change How I Talk?

It will naturally take some time for you to get used to speaking with dentures. After all, your tongue and mouth need to get accustomed to your new teeth! While the adjustment period is slightly different for every patient, it usually takes a month or so to become used to speaking with dentures. Generally speaking, the more you practice, the faster the adjustment process will go!

What Can’t I Eat with Dentures?

Replacing your missing teeth with dentures will allow you to eat a full, varied diet once again! However, it’s important that you take a few precautions when choosing which foods to indulge in. For instance, sticky foods like peanut butter, gum, taffy, and gummy candy may pull your dentures out of place. Very hard foods such as nuts, apples, corn on the cob, hard candies, and carrot sticks can potentially dislodge your denture as well or even damage them. While you should be ok to eat these foods on occasion, do your best to avoid them for the most part.

Can I Sleep with My Dentures In?

During your first week or so of wearing dentures, we’ll likely instruct you to wear them all day and night to help your mouth get used to them. However, after that, it’s important that you take your dentures out every night and soak them. Dentures can restrict the circulation in your gums, so taking them out in the evening gives the gums a chance to recover and get the nutrients they need during the night. Additionally, an overnight soaking is the best way to keep all the nooks and crannies of your dentures clean and free of bacteria buildup.

Can I Use Superglue to Fix My Broken Dentures?

If your dentures chip, crack, or break in any other way, your first step should be to call us right away. Wearing a broken denture isn’t just uncomfortable or embarrassing: it can damage your mouth as well. We’ll see you as soon as we can to fix your broken denture. In the meantime, DO NOT use superglue to attempt to fix them yourself! Superglue and similar products contain chemicals and materials that are not safe for the human body. Repairing your dentures with them could potentially cause you to get very sick, so skip the risk and give us a call instead.