Removable Dentures

A denture is a removable replacement for missing teeth and surrounding tissues. Two types of dentures are available -- complete and partial dentures. Complete dentures are fabricated when no teeth remain, while partial dentures are used when a portion of natural teeth are healthy enough to support a partial denture.

Complete Dentures

Complete dentures can be planned as either "conventional" or "immediate." Conventional dentures are made after the teeth have been removed and the gum tissue and jaw has adequately healed. Typically a conventional denture is ready for placement in the mouth about 8 to 12 weeks after the teeth have been removed.

A very nice alternative to a conventional denture, is an immediate denture. Immediate dentures are fabricated in advance and can be positioned as soon as the teeth are removed. This is typically the choice for most patients, due to the fact that the patient is spared the embarrassment of not having teeth during the healing period of 2 to 3 months after their extractions.

However, bone and gum tissues will remodel significantly over this time period, especially the first few weeks following tooth removal.

As a result, the disadvantage of immediate dentures compared with conventional dentures is that they require considerably more adjustments to your bite and fit during the healing process. Many times immediate dentures should only be considered a temporary solution until conventional dentures can be made at the end of the healing period. The good news is that in many cases, the dentures can be relined to fit your tissues and jaw after the healing process providing a more than satisfactory result without having to fabricate an additional denture.

Partial Dentures

A removable partial denture or bridge usually consists of replacement teeth attached to a pink or gum-colored plastic base, which is connected by metal framework that holds the denture in place in the mouth. There are a number of  drawbacks associated with full dentures,  and not everyone can successfully wear them.  In many instances, false teeth are not especially useful because of retention or stability problems.  For this reason,  even a single healthy tooth left in place can stabilize an otherwise unstable full denture.  

Partial dentures are fabricated to fit precisely around your natural teeth.  The partial denture formed around the natural teeth, and allows the rest of the denture to rest against the gums giving the benefit of mechanical stability offered by the immobility of the natural teeth. Even a few remaining healthy teeth in the arch can significantly increase the stability of the entire denture compared to a completely edentulous (no remaining teeth) arch. 

It is easy to replace lost natural teeth using a partial denture. In addition partial dentures have the added advantage of not having to cover the entire roof of the mouth. In short, partial dentures are a great way to economically replace missing teeth while taking the stresses and abuse off of teeth that are not meant for chewing function; for example, if there are missing back molar teeth. When molar teeth are missing, the remaining single rooted teeth begin to break down. As a matter of fact, missing teeth in general create a domino effect of continuing to lose more teeth over time due to teeth shifting, bone loss, teeth emerging our of their sockets, and remaining teeth having to take a continually increasing load of unsustainable force during normal function and grinding on teeth at night time. Partial dentures may also provide stability and preservation of your teeth while planning on having fixed restorations in the future, such as bridges and implants.

Contact Dr. Joshua Maxwell today for a consultation at his Frisco Office.