Dentures

Denture Overview

Dentures are custom-made replacements for missing teeth and can be taken out and put back into your mouth.  They can be partial dentures replacing some teeth, or full dentures replacing all teeth.  While dentures take some getting used to, and may never quite feel exactly the same as natural teeth, The Smile team can help to create natural looking and comfortable dentures for our patients.

Denture Benefits

Replacing missing teeth will help to improve your appearance and smile. Without the right support from the denture, facial muscles can collapse, making a person look older.  Furthermore, dentures will help you eat and speak more comfortably.  Studies have found that without enough teeth or the right set of dentures, food are swallowed before they are properly chewed, and are too big for the stomach to digest properly, reducing a person’s overall nutrition intake.

Denture care

Over time, your denture will go through wear and tear, and need to be relined, remade or rebased as a result of normal wear.  As you age, your mouth naturally changes shape. These changes can cause your dentures to loosen, making your denture less comfortable and causing inflammation or irritation to your gums.  Although there are sometimes recommendations to change dentures every 5 or every 10 years, in there is no golden rule.  At The Smile Team we evaluate every patient individually and have seen many dentures lasting well and comfortably for our patients beyond a decade.   We will be glad to help discuss with you your denture needs.  As a minimum, we do recommend that you see The Smile Team dentist every 6 months if you have partial dentures so that the remaining teeth can be preserved and prolonged.  Even if you have a full set of dentures we would recommend you to visit The Smile Team for a review of your denture and an oral cancer screening examination.

To help your dentures to last here are tips to help their care;

When handling dentures, stand over a folded towel or basin of water. Dentures are delicate and may break if dropped.

Brushing dentures daily will remove food and dental plaque, and help prevent them from becoming stained. A denture cleanser may be used to care for dentures, but it does not replace a thorough daily brushing.

Don’t forget to brush your gums, tongue and palate every morning with a soft-bristled brush before you insert dentures. This stimulates circulation in your tissues and helps remove plaque.  Teeth in the vicinity of dentures typically accumulate more plaque than teeth away from dentures.  Therefore its important to spend even more time brushing and cleaning when you have a combination of teeth and dentures.

Always push in your dentures into place with fingers and thumbs.  The pads of your digits are much softer and provide give to guide the dentures into place.  We advise against simply biting your dentures into place as this can typically lead to more instances of broken dentures and hooks.

It’s highly recommended to take your dentures out at night.  It gives the mouth some time to breathe.

The Smile Team recommends having a spare set of dentures as a backup.  Sometimes this is a reason in itself to have a new denture made.  It’s a bit like having a back up pair of glasses, or two sets of keys, because you never know if one might be lost or need repair.

The Smile Team denture steps

Full Denture – A conventional full denture is made when all teeth have been lost or removed. For patients transitioning from having some teeth to a full denture, a denture can be created and placed in a patient’s mouth at the time of removing the remaining teeth,  or once the soft tissues have healed, which may take several months.

An immediate complete denture is inserted as soon as the remaining teeth are removed. The dentist takes measurements and makes models of the patient’s jaws during a preliminary visit. With immediate dentures, the denture wearer does not have to be without teeth during the healing period.  There are advantages and disadvantages to the two different techniques that The Smile Team dentists will be happy to speak to you about.

Partial Denture – A partial denture rests on a acrylic or metal framework that attaches to your natural teeth. Sometimes crowns are placed on some of your natural teeth and serve as anchors for the denture. Partial dentures offer a removable alternative to bridges.

FAQS

What are dentures made from?

Full dentures are typically made in an acrylic material.  Partial dentures can be made using acrylic or metal material.  The metal option allows greater strength in a thinner size, and therefore feels more natural.  Acrylic dentures are a cost effective alternative to metal dentures.

What are the alternative options to dentures?

Once upon a time there were few options other than dentures to replace missing teeth, but modern dentistry has led to reliable dental implant replacement of teeth.  The biggest advantage of dental implant treatment is that it is fixed to your jaw and doesn’t require removal.  Because dental implants crowns are fixed, they don’t wobble and feel solid to chew and bite on.  Dental implant crowns are also made out of porcelain which look more natural than acrylic denture teeth.  Dental implant treatment also eliminates the need to have hooks that rely on neighbouring teeth and can look dark.  The Smile Team has been helping patients with dental implant treatment for two decades.  We have the experience and qualifications to be able to guide you on whether dental implant treatment is ideal for you.

MEET OUR DENTISTS

Dr Julie Khuoc

Family and Cosmetic Dentist

“Being able to improve the health and appearance of my patient’s teeth gives them a lot of confidence in comfort, function and aesthetics.  I love seeing this transformation.”

Dr Bradley Xue

Family and Cosmetic Dentist

“The most rewarding part of being a dentist is being able to create happy smiles and happy people”

Dr Julian He

Family and Cosmetic Dentist

“Whether it be to maintain a healthy mouth or a complete smile transformation, I love being a part of my patients journey to achieve their goals.”

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