All about your dentures
Dentures are commonly known as false teeth and are defined as a prosthetic device that is placed in the mouth to replace missing teeth. This can range from replacing one tooth (partial denture) to all the teeth (full denture) in the top and/or bottom jaw. Dentures can be made of only plastic or a combination of plastic and metal. The pink plastic part of the denture mimics the gums and allows the denture to sit on the gums. The white teeth are usually made of plastic or porcelain.
When preparing for dentures, all problematic teeth should be filled or removed before the denture is made to avoid having to redo it. However, it is possible for the denture to be made before the teeth extraction so that it can be placed immediately in the mouth once the teeth have been removed. When teeth are removed, the bone that held the teeth and the gums slowly shrinks with time. This affects the dentures as they sit on the gums. The bone is constantly adjusting and when all the teeth are removed, the whole jaw changes shape and size over the years that follow. This causes the denture to become loose. This is normal and makes it necessary to get a new set of dentures every couple of years.
You should prepare yourself mentally for these changes and be patient as you adjust to a foreign object in your mouth. It can take months for the tongue, muscles, nerves, and brain to adapt to dentures of any kind. Speech, eating and chewing change with the use of dentures and these activities often require practice to master. It may help to avoid biting into hard foods and cutting food into small bite-sized pieces to aid chewing and digestion. It is important to ensure that you are still getting sufficient nutrition when you have dentures, as some patients avoid hard (and usually nutritious) foods as a result of difficulty in biting.
If you received dentures immediately after having all your teeth removed, it is likely that they will become loose in the next 3–6 months. This may necessitate a reline of the dentures. Likewise, if a further modification is necessary, a rebase of the dentures can be done too. This is when the entire pink plastic part is changed to better fit the gums. Repairs might include fixing the dentures if they are dropped and break, if a tooth falls out of the denture, or maybe a piece of the plastic snaps off. If you lose another tooth, or more teeth, after you receive your denture, teeth can be added to the existing denture to replace the missing teeth. When receiving dentures your dentist should give you detailed instructions of how to care for them. Please follow the instructions carefully as oral health is vital for overall systemic health; the connection between oral health and overall health should not be underestimated. With good care and hygiene discipline, your well-made dentures can last many years without problems.
Please contact us to find out exactly how we fund dentures on your plan and whether authorisation is necessary.