Tooth loss is an issue that affects just about every aspect of your life. In addition to impacting the quality of your smile, tooth loss also affects your abilities to eat and speak properly. Healthy teeth remaining in the arch can begin to shift out of alignment, which then causes other major issues. Replacing missing teeth is essential for restoring the functions of your mouth and your quality of life. Sylvan Heights Dental can replace your missing teeth with partial and complete
dentures.
What are the Causes of Tooth Loss?
There are several issues that can lead to tooth loss. Some of the most common causes include:
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Gum disease
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Facial trauma, such as a fall or sports injury
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Bruxism, or grinding and clenching your teeth
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Significant tooth decay |
What are Dentures?
Dentures are a common traditional solution used to replace missing teeth. It is a treatment that has been in use for hundreds of years. Over the years, many improvements have been made on this treatment, however, which have made dentures appear more natural.
Dentures are a removable restoration that is made from impressions of your mouth. Acrylic resin or porcelain teeth, which are designed to look exactly like your real teeth, are set into an acrylic base. The base, which rests on your gums for support, can be made to match the exact color of your natural gums. This helps the base to blend into your mouth more seamlessly. Dentures today are also made to be much less bulky, which also helps in providing a more realistic appearance.
What are Complete Dentures?
When most people think about dentures, what they picture are complete dentures. These are a restoration made to replace an entire arch of missing teeth. They can replace the top arch, bottom arch, or even both. Before providing your complete dentures, we first need to
extract any unhealthy teeth that are remaining in the arch. After your extractions, an impression of your mouth is taken. The impression is used to design and create your custom complete denture.
After they have been completed, we make sure that they fit properly in your mouth and that they feel comfortable. Keep in mind that your new dentures will take some time to get used to and may even feel a little uncomfortable at first. However, this discomfort should dissipate with time. If your dentures continue to cause pain, or the pain is severe, schedule an appointment right away.
What About Partial Dentures?
If you are missing a section of teeth, but the rest of the teeth in the arch are still completely healthy, you may be provided with partial dentures. This type of denture allows your healthy teeth to stay right where they are. Like complete dentures, partial dentures consist of false teeth set into an acrylic, gum-colored base. The base sits directly on your gums, relying on the tissue for support. Partial dentures also have metal clasps that attach to your healthy teeth to help provide additional stability.
Benefits of Dentures
Dentures provide many benefits, including:
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Restoring your smile.
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Allowing you to eat many of your favorite foods again.
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Improving your speech.
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Providing support for your facial features. |
Dentures help to improve the quality of your smile as well as your abilities to eat and speak properly. For more information, and to find out if dentures are right for you, call Sylvan Heights Dental today at (503) 297-1471 to schedule your appointment.
