Missing teeth can be a huge problem. Not only does it affect our overall appearance, but it also negatively affects our daily lives.
We need to use our teeth for chewing foods that we eat every day. Without the proper set of teeth, eating food can be a hard and painful task.
One solution for a missing tooth comes in the form of dental implants. Or, a full mouth implant will also do if you are missing a whole set of teeth. However, dental implants are very costly.
So another, lower cost, solution would be dentures. But what exactly are they, and how do they work?
Today, we will share with you how dentures work. We will also tell you other things about dentures.
How Do Dentures Work?
Dentures, much like dental implants, are replacements for your missing tooth. But unlike dental implants, dentures are removable.
To determine how dentures work, it is important to understand the two types of dentures. These two types of dentures are complete dentures and partial dentures.
Complete dentures have two subtypes, which are conventional and immediate dentures. Here is the difference between conventional and immediate dentures.
The Different Types of Dentures
For conventional dentures, they are placed in your mouth after removing the remaining teeth (after the tissue heals). How long the tissues will heal will depend, but it may take several months.
As the name suggests, immediate dentures are placed immediately after the remaining teeth are removed. With immediate dentures, you will need to get them relined after a few months as the bone supporting the teeth reshapes after healing.
Partial dentures rest on a metal framework that is attached to the natural teeth. In some cases, crowns are put on some natural teeth, which serve as an anchor for the dentures.
There are also implant-supported dentures. An implant-supported denture is a hybrid of both dental implants and dentures.
In this type of dentures, 4 to 6 implants made of titanium screws are placed into the patient’s jawbone. After the osseointegration, a process where the implant fuses into your jawbone, a unique set of dentures will be then attached to your mouth.
With the three types of dentures, not including implant-supported dentures, the acrylic base, which shares the same color as your gums, is placed in your gums. The base is fitted in your mouth.
How Are Dentures Made?
How they become fitted exactly in your mouth is because of this process. Dentures are customized to fit your mouth in a dental laboratory.
The basics of it are that the shape of your mouth will be taken using plastic or wax. Then the wax/plastic model will be taken to a dental technician to make a denture using your mouth model.
Dentures that are for the upper mouth include the palate or the roof of your mouth. On the other hand, dentures for the lower mouth are shaped like a horseshoe.
How dentures work is that they are placed in your mouth after a dental technician makes it for you out of the model of your mouth. So that is all there is to know about how dentures work.