Dentures – Orange Park, FL 

Effects of Missing Teeth

Teeth do have the potential to stay in your mouth for the rest of your life, but unfortunately, you can potentially lose them under a number of circumstances. From gum disease to tooth decay to physical trauma, there are several reasons why you might end up with empty space in your smile.

Losing any number of teeth can lead to various consequences. For example:

• The lack of support from your teeth can affect your facial appearance, possibly leading to sunken cheeks or a permanent frown.
• If the teeth involved in speaking are lost, you may have a harder time pronouncing specific words.
• An incomplete set of teeth can affect your ability to chew properly; consequently, you may not be able to enjoy some of your favorite foods anymore.
• When you’re unhappy with your appearance due to missing teeth, your self-esteem is likely to suffer.

Simply put, it tends to be in your best interest to have missing teeth replaced as soon as you can.

What Qualifies You for Dentures?

You may want to think about getting dentures if you have already lost multiple teeth in one or both arches. You likely qualify for this form of tooth replacement if:

• Your gums are in good enough health.
• There is plenty of bone in your jaw.
• You are willing and able to commit to taking care of your dentures in the long term.

We can discuss the criteria for getting dentures in more detail during your initial consultation. Additionally, we will need to narrow down the kind of denture that you will get, whether it’s a partial denture, a full denture, or an implant denture.

Alternative Tooth-Replacement Options

Dentures are a highly reliable form of tooth replacement that almost 41 million Americans currently benefit from. Nevertheless, they aren’t necessarily the best choice for everyone. It’s important to remember that there is more than one way to re-complete your smile after tooth loss:

• Dental Bridges: If you have lost one tooth or multiple teeth in a row, the empty space can be filled with a dental bridge. Note that this type of tooth replacement requires you to have healthy teeth on both sides of the gap in question.
• Dental Implants: You need to have a certain level of bone density before you can get dental implants. This form of tooth replacement comes with all kinds of unique benefits, and it can last for the rest of your life with the right care.

Partial Dentures

For patients who still have healthy teeth, partial dentures are designed to fit between them like the last piece of a puzzle. Small clasps are attached to a framework that holds a unique number of teeth that will fill in any gaps. 

Full Dentures

These are probably what come to mind when you hear the word “denture.” Full dentures are meant to bring back a complete row of teeth and do so by sitting directly on the gums. With the help of natural suction and denture adhesive, they’re able to remain rock-solid.

Dental Implant Dentures

With dental implant dentures, the prosthetic teeth are rooted to your jawbone using small titanium posts. This not only makes the prosthetic incredibly stable and strong, but the new roots also stimulate the jawbone from within. This prevents bone loss over time and enables the denture to maintain its initial fit for much longer compared to removable prosthetics.

Psychological Benefits

Tooth loss can impact your looks and abilities in ways that many people struggle to accept. For instance, you might avoid spending time with others if you’re worried about how they’ll judge your dental condition, which can lower your self-esteem.

Filling in the spaces in your smile with a partial or complete set of dentures helps you look and feel like your happiest, most beautiful self to boost your confidence.  

Clearer Enunciation

Many patients who have lost their adult teeth struggle to communicate clearly because they’ve developed a lisp or other changes to their speech patterns. You press your tongue against your teeth in specific ways to form certain sounds, and when some fall out, it can be difficult to speak.

Once you start wearing dentures, it can take about a month for your tongue and the other supporting muscles in your mouth to adjust to their presence. Then, with some practice and patience, you can enunciate much more clearly.

Improves Nutrition

Did you know that it’s possible to develop gastrointestinal issues or malnutrition after tooth loss? Many foods that contain nutrients necessary to support your general well-being are tough in texture or hard to bite into, like chewy meats or raw fruits and veggies. Not only that, but missing teeth can lead to food that’s not mashed enough to be easily swallowed and digested.

Dentures restore a great deal of your original bite force, so that you can enjoy a wider variety of foods and improve your oral and overall condition.

Preserves Oral Health

If you’ve lost teeth sporadically throughout your mouth, the ones that remain might be at risk. They’re prone to shifting out of their proper alignment to try to fill in the gaps left behind. This can wear down your enamel prematurely, increasing your vulnerability to tooth decay, injury, or gum disease.

With prosthetics in place, your existing teeth stay put to avoid potential problems.

Expands Opportunities

One of the first things that others notice about you is the quality of your smile, and it’s only natural to want to make a good first impression. This is especially true if you have an important occasion coming up, like a job interview, first date, or another momentous event. Unfortunately, if you have missing teeth, you might be remembered for the wrong reasons.

Dentures can boost both your appearance and your abilities simultaneously, so you can put your best foot forward. This leads to better professional opportunities, deeper relationships, and a busier social calendar.  

What are Dentures Made Of?

Dentures can consist of several different types of materials, but they are usually broken down into two groups: the gum-colored base and the prosthetic teeth.

Gum-Colored Base

This part of the denture needs to look like natural gum tissue, which is why this material is usually resin, acrylic, or nylon. Acrylic is the most common. These give you a realistic look and provide a foundation for strong replacement teeth. For partial dentures, the acrylic base may have metal hooks that attach to the surrounding teeth for more stability.

Prosthetic Teeth

To have a more natural look and feel, prosthetic teeth in dentures are usually made of porcelain or, in some cases, resin. Both substances can be crafted to appear like real teeth, but porcelain tends to be favored because of its durability and stain resistance.

The Denture Creation Process

With multiple steps, the denture fabrication process starts by our team taking impressions of your upper and lower arches digitally. A small device scans the exact size and shape of your mouth, creating a 3D image of your oral cavity. We send this information to our trusted dental lab, where technicians basically print a copy of your oral cavity and create a mold for the dentures. From this physical model, technicians use wax to replicate your gumline. Once prosthetic teeth are created, they are attached to wax dentures.

These working dentures arrive at our office, where you’ll visit for a fitting. If adjustments need to be made, you may need to have several fitting appointments just to be sure we get it right. When everything seems to fit properly and looks good, the dental lab will move forward and use the mold, pouring in the acrylic and attaching the porcelain teeth. Before sending the final product to our office, the technicians will polish the dentures, so they look picture perfect.

Adjusting to Your New Dentures

Although they have been customized to your mouth, brand-new dentures may not feel completely comfortable for a short while when you first get them. After a bit of time, they will feel just as natural as your teeth used to. At the beginning, we recommend eating softer foods and exercising your facial muscles. If you find that your discomfort continues for a long time, let us know about it. We want you to enjoy your dentures!