Dentures are becoming less and less common as the standard of oral care increases. However, due to knocked out teeth from head trauma and dental decay, there are still a number of people who require artificial sets of teeth.Dentures are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, and which are supported by surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. Conventional dentures are removable, however there are many different denture designs, some which rely on bonding or clasping onto teeth or dental implants. Dentures come in the form of flexible plastic palates attached to a set of artificial ceramic teeth. They can be used to restore the appearance of a whole or partial dental arc.
Dental decay begins when plaque acid breaks down the enamel that surrounds the teeth. If these cavities penetrate to the centre of the tooth it can cause an infection that leads to tooth loss. Tooth infections are difficult to treat and can easily spread to other teeth. When many teeth have succumbed to infection it removes the rigid structure that supports the facial tissue. This causes sagging in the facial tissue which adds years to the patient’s appearance. An absence of teeth also causes an extensive erosion of the gums and makes eating very difficult. Dentures replace the teeth as facial supports and enable the patients to eat and live a normal life.
Dentures can help patients in a number of ways:
* Mastication - chewing ability is improved by replacing edentulous areas with denture teeth.
* Aesthetics - the presence of teeth provide a natural facial appearance, and wearing a denture to replace missing teeth provides support for the lips and cheeks and corrects the collapsed appearance that occurs after losing teeth.
* Phonetics - by replacing missing teeth, especially the anteriors, patients are better able to speak by improving pronunciation of those words containing sibilants or fricatives.
* Self-Esteem - Patients feel better about themselves.
Problems with dentures include the fact that patients are not used to having something in their mouth that is not food. The brain senses this appliance as "food" and sends messages to the salivary glands to produce more saliva and to secrete it at a higher rate. This will only happen in the first 12 to 24 hours, after which, the salivary glands return to their normal output. New dentures can also be the cause of sore spots as they compress the soft tissues mucosa (denture bearing soft tissue). A few denture adjustments for the days following insertion of the dentures can take care of this issue. Gagging is another problem encountered by a minority of patients. At times, this may be due to a denture that is too loose, too thick or extended too far posteriorly onto the soft palate. At times, gagging may also be attributed to psychological denial of the denture. (Psychological gagging is the most difficult to treat since it is out of the dentist's control. In such cases, an implant supported palateless denture may have to be constructed or a hypnotist may need to be consulted). Sometimes there could be a gingivitis under the full dentures, which is caused by accumulation of dental plaque.
Dentures should be secured by suction alone but often this is not enough due to erosion of the gums. Denture wearers often resort to using denture adhesive strips or gels, which can be very messy and prevent patients eating certain foods. A more permanent approach is to have a set of mini-implants secured to the jawbone to which the dentures can snap on or off. This provides a good level of security meaning patients do not have to feel anxious about loose dentures.Implant technology can vastly improve the patient's denture-wearing experience by increasing stability and saving his or her bone from wearing away. Implant can also help with the retention factor.
Dentures are fairly hard wearing but do need regular cleaning just like real teeth. They are usually taken out over night and cleaned. Dentists usually offer more extensive cleaning services as part of their wider denture treatments.
If you are suffering from missing teeth and want to restore the appearance of your smile, make an appointment with Goma dental to see what dentures could do for your teeth and life.
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