Choosing your dentures
A great set of dentures will not only work well and feel comfortable, but they'll look just like the real thing. If you've lost some or all of your teeth, you'll have also lost some of your enjoyment of food, and perhaps of social interactions too. Understanding the types of dentures available will help you choose the form that is right for you, so you can get back to enjoying your food and your life.
Why do I need dentures?
People lose their teeth for any number of reasons, from simple tooth decay to complications arising from a host of medical conditions. Dentures will ensure you can carry on with your daily activities, uninterrupted.
What types of dentures are there?
Dentures come in two basic forms: full, or complete, dentures and partial dentures.
Full dentures
Full dentures are useful when someone has lost all of their teeth, at both the top and bottom of their jaw. Full, conventional, dentures are inserted several weeks after a tooth extraction, to give your mouth time to heal, but inserting your dentures at the time of your extraction may also be possible. These are known as immediate dentures.
Immediate dentures are created prior to any tooth extraction, so that they are ready to be inserted right away. Immediate dentures are generally best used as a temporary solution, while conventional dentures are being made. The healing process that occurs in your mouth will subtly alter the way your dentures fit and you'll find the greatest comfort once your conventional dentures are in place.
Partial dentures
Partial dentures simply stand in for the teeth that are missing, leaving your existing teeth in place. They can be supported by the surrounding teeth, or attached to both your teeth and the tissues of your mouth.
Some dentures make use of titanium implants, which are inserted into the jaw bone, offering a more secure placement in the mouth while enabling them to be removed for easy cleaning.
If you do opt for dentures, it may take some time to get used to wearing them, and to eating and speaking with them in your mouth. But, no matter your frustration at first, remember you're not alone.
You'd be amazed by the host of celebrities who've sported dentures over the years. For celebrities from young Harry Potter star Emma Watson, who wore dentures to cover her missing baby teeth during filming, to former US Vice President Joe Biden and even the debonair Hollywood star, Clark Gable, dentures have played a key role in their success.