Dentures In San Diego
If you’re lost one or more of your natural teeth, Dr. Ryan Wallrich is here to provide you with the care you need to restore your bite and your smile. We offer both full and partial dentures, which are an ideal option for restoring your missing teeth, particularly if you’re on a budget. Contact us now to schedule a consultation at Harbor Family Dental, and see if dentures in San Diego are right for you.
What Are Dentures?
Dentures are false teeth, and are designed to replace your missing teeth to restore your bite, your smile, and your oral health. They have a long history, since false teeth in various forms have been used to replace missing teeth for centuries.
Modern dentures are quite a bit different, though, and they come in two primary forms known as “partial” and “full” dentures. Partial dentures are meant to replace one or more missing teeth. They use a metal and plastic framework to hold multiple false teeth in place, and snap over your remaining natural teeth to stay in place.
Full dentures are different, and are meant to replace the upper row, the lower row, or an entire mouth of missing teeth. They are only recommended if you have serious oral health problems, because they require you to have any remaining teeth pulled before the procedure begins. They use an acrylic, gum-colored base, which holds a full set of false teeth in place. These false teeth allow you to eat, smile, and chew normally, even after extensive tooth loss.
How Do Dentures Work?
There are a few different ways to build partial dentures, but they usually use a system of metal clips to snap onto your remaining healthy teeth. Once your dentures are in place, they will clip onto your teeth and will lock in place. Partial dentures are very stable, and if you’re only replacing a few of your teeth, you will barely notice them once you get used to them.
Full dentures work a bit differently. Since they require all of your natural teeth to be extracted, they do not clip onto any teeth. Instead, they stay in place with friction. Upper dentures cover your gums and palate (roof of your mouth), while lower dentures only fit over your gums and are shaped like a horseshoe. The tight fit of the denture is what holds them in place, though you can also use denture adhesive products to keep them from moving.
Why Should I Replace My Missing Teeth?
The most obvious reason is to restore your ability to chew and eat. Missing one or several teeth can make it difficult to bite and chew when you eat your favorite foods, and can interfere with your day-to-day life.
Dentures also help restore your appearance and self-confidence, and also help correct difficulties with speech, which are common after extensive tooth loss. In addition to this benefit, they also help protect and preserve your oral health by preventing the remaining teeth from shifting toward empty sockets where you’ve lost teeth.
So if you are missing one, several, or most of your teeth, Dr. Ryan Wallrich is here to help at Harbor Family Dental. Get in touch for a consultation and explore your options for tooth replacement, including dentures, dental bridges, and dental implants.
What Is the Dentures Fitting Process Like?
First, you’ll need to have a consultation with Dr. Ryan Wallrich to determine if you’re a good candidate for dentures. Candidates shouldn’t have any active tooth decay or gum disease. Impressions are then taken of your teeth and sent to a dental lab that will create your partial or full dentures.
Measurements will be taken of your jaw, known as a jaw record. All of this info is sent to the dental lab so that your dentures fit properly with your bite and jaw structure. If you are receiving a full denture, we will need to extract any remaining teeth in your mouth.
Because your gums have to fully heal before we can place your official dentures, we will give you an immediate temporary denture to wear for 8-12 weeks. Once your dentures have been constructed, you will have a trial fitting to test how they fit and feel and inform us if any adjustments need to be made. After some adjusting, you will have your final denture fitting.
Partial Dentures
A partial denture is like a removable dental bridge. It’s a restorative method of replacing one or a few missing teeth without needing to have any teeth extracted. This denture is held in place with help from the natural abutment teeth that receive metal clasps. Partial dentures clip onto these metal clasps to be securely held in place for speaking and eating.
Full Dentures
Full dentures, also known as complete dentures, replace the upper and lower arches of teeth in the mouth. Because full dentures restore a person’s entire set of teeth, they will need to have any remaining teeth extracted. Their gums will also need to fully heal before they can have a denture fitting which takes about 8-12 weeks. A full denture is held in place through suction.
How Long Do Dentures Last?
This depends on a few factors, such as:
The denture type
Wear and tear
Changes to the structure of your mouth
On average, partial dentures last for up to 15 years and full dentures last for 5-10 years. The longevity of your dentures depends on how well you take care of your dentures, which is in your control but also depends on how your mouth and jaw naturally change, which is not in your control.
Tooth loss causes jaw bone loss which causes changes to your jaw and facial structure. You should visit the dentist regularly to check that your dentures still fit properly, especially if you experience soreness, irritation, or the dentures feel loose.
Practice good oral hygiene, scrub and soak your dentures, visit the dentist every 6 months, and don’t expose your dentures to heat which can warp their structure.