Dentures – Glastonbury, CT

Effects of Missing Teeth

If you’re missing teeth, it can take its toll on not just your mouth but your entire body. Difficulties with chewing, for example, can lead to malnutrition. If you’re hesitant to smile or have trouble speaking clearly, your dental gaps can cause anxiety or depression. And, finally, missing teeth are associated with jawbone loss. Teeth are responsible for transferring essential stimulation to the bone, and when they go missing, so does that stimulation. As a result, the bone starts to shrink.

What Qualifies You for Dentures?

First and foremost, the need to replace multiple missing teeth. Then after that, good oral health. You see, conditions like cavities and gum disease can often lead to treatment failure. If you were to get partial dentures while having an active case of cavities, decay in the natural teeth near your prosthetic could cause it to lose support or become ill-fitting. Gum disease, meanwhile, can lead to gum recession, making it difficult for your dentures to sit properly in your mouth.

Don’t worry, though – if you do have an oral condition, our team will help restore your health so you can successfully receive quality dentures.

Alternative Tooth-Replacement Options

Dentures are a reliable, cost-effective solution for many patients, but they’re not your only option. Dental implants can provide some unique benefits, including superior strength and stability. They can also be combined with a denture to create an implant denture, which gives you the benefit of efficiently replacing multiple teeth with all the advantages that come with dental implants. During your consultation, we can talk about your tooth-replacement options in more detail so you can make an informed decision.

What Are Dentures Made Of?

Dentures consist of two principal parts, those being:

• The base: The base of a denture allows it to hold its place in the mouth and supports its artificial teeth. This component can be crafted from a variety of materials like nylon, resin, porcelain, or metal, but they are usually made from acrylic since it can be tailored to match the appearance of natural gum tissue. Partial dentures may incorporate metal clips designed to connect with the remaining natural teeth.
• The artificial teeth: These are usually made from resin or porcelain. While porcelain produces the most lifelike results, it can be abrasive to the remaining natural teeth, so resin is usually used for partial dentures.

The Denture Creation Process

Dentures are created and customized for an incredibly comfortable fit through the following process:

1. Our dentist will take detailed measurements of the patient’s bite and upper and lower gums and send this data to a trusted dental lab.
2. At the lab, a skilled technician will use these measurements to create a wax replica of the gumline.
3. The technician fixes artificial teeth into the wax using a device called an articulator and adjusts the restoration to make sure it matches the shape of your gums.
4. These wax dentures are sent back to our office so you can try them on. After they are approved, we’ll send them back to the dental lab or finalization. You will receive temporary dentures to wear while your permanent set is being made.
5. Back at the lab, the technician places your wax dentures in a flask, fills it with plaster, and boils it to melt the wax away.
6. The technician makes holes in the teeth before injecting acrylic into the spaces formerly occupied by the wax along with a liquid separator to prevent sticking.
7. The technician will carefully remove the plaster to reveal the final denture before cleaning it with an ultrasonic bath.
8. The denture is trimmed and polished.
9. You’ll come back to our office to try your dentures on. After any final adjustments, you will be ready to show the world your new smile.

Adjusting to Your New Dentures

You can expect to need some time to get used to wearing your dentures, and you may experience some mild soreness and difficulty speaking and chewing while you are adjusting. You may be able to acclimate more easily by sticking to a soft diet, performing facial exercises, and experimenting with denture adhesive products. However, contact our office if your discomfort persists or seems to be getting worse after several days.

Designed to Look and Feel Natural

Oftentimes, patients think of the dentures that their grandparents and great-grandparents wore. However, they look vastly different today. That’s largely because they are fully customizable, from the shape, size, and color of your crowns (teeth) to the fit, color, and material of their base. Not only that, but they help prevent your face from looking sunken or hollow, which could prematurely age you. So, you don’t have to worry – your dentures will make you look and feel your absolute best.

Improves Nutrition

Whether you’ve been struggling with tooth loss for several months, a few years, or an entire decade, you know just how difficult it can be to eat a nutrient-dense, well-balanced diet with gaps in your smile. Fortunately, partial dentures can fill the open spaces, and full dentures can give you a complete arch of teeth again. That way, you can enjoy a wide range of foods, benefiting your oral and overall health in the process.

Prevents Dental Drift

If you haven’t heard of dental drift before, it’s when the teeth surrounding the gap begin to move out of alignment. Although it might not seem significant, the change in your bite can lead to everything from trouble chewing properly to difficulty enunciating clearly. It can also result in premature wear and tear on your teeth. Fortunately, dentures can help prevent that from happening by seamlessly filling in the gaps in your smile.

Easy Maintenance

Good news: you don’t need to buy a bunch of expensive oral hygiene products to keep your dentures in pristine condition. Simply use a damp, soft-bristled toothbrush and mild soap to remove food particles, plaque, and other debris from the surface. Then, before you go to bed at night, place them in a clean glass filled with room-temperature water or a dentist-approved cleaner. That’s it!

Clearer Enunciation

One of the many downsides of tooth loss is that it makes it difficult to enunciate clearly. Since your tongue moves against the back of your teeth to create the right sound, it’s not hard to see why! With a custom denture, we can give you a complete smile again. Not only will this improve your confidence and the strength of your bite, but it will also make communicating clearly significantly easier.