Know What are Dentures: 5 Types, Treatment & Benefits Explained

Dentures operate as replacements for missing teeth in your upper jaw, lower jaw, or both. These are removable and can be taken out and put back in the mouth as and when required. They can be partial o

Overview

Dentures operate as replacements for missing teeth in your upper jaw, lower jaw, or both. These are removable and can be taken out and put back in the mouth as and when required. They can be partial or complete, depending on the number of teeth they intend to replace. These artificial teeth are custom-made from various materials like acrylic, resin, nylon, metal, and porcelain.

Types of Dentures

Dentures are crafted based on individual needs and to solve a unique underlying issue. The correct option is recommended by your doctor depending on your requirements, both in terms of functionality and aesthetics.

Full Dentures

Full dentures or complete dentures are the go-to image for artificial ones. Essentially, it consists of a complete set of artificial teeth and a gum-colored base that replaces an entire section of missing teeth. They are affixed onto the gums and rest on either the palate (for the upper jaw) or the jawbone ridge (for the lower jaw) for support. These are removable and often taken out at night to help the natural gums rest.

Partial Dentures

Partial dentures are applied if one or several teeth are missing, but not the entire section in the upper or lower jaw. The gums and jawbone support these, and also have special clasps or hooks enclosed around the natural teeth for additional grip.

Immediate Dentures

As the name suggests, these are applied immediately and are mostly temporary. Immediate dentures are helpful in case of tooth extractions and are applied as a temporary measure, before being replaced with the final ones.

Implant-retained Dentures

Unlike regular ones, which are supported entirely by the jawbone ridge or gums, implant-retained ones are affixed to dental implants. In this case, small posts are placed in the jawbone to replace missing teeth. Implant-retained dentures offer better stability and do not require denture glue to secure them in the mouth. These fake teeth can be removed at night.

Implant-supported Dentures

These are permanent sets of dentures, which cannot be removed easily. For people who prefer not to remove dental plates frequently, dentists recommend implant-supported dentures. However, these require high maintenance in terms of daily cleaning, flossing, and overall dental hygiene.

Treatment Process

As the first step, your dentist in Kolkata will perform a thorough examination of your teeth, gums, and jaw structure to determine if you are eligible for dental plates, and then will decide the type of dentures suitable for you. The type of dental plates and other procedures, if any, depend upon multiple factors like the number of missing teeth, the duration of missing teeth, bone density and volume in the jaw, alignment between the jaws, as well as personal preferences like removability and aesthetics, are also taken into consideration.

After the consultation, the process of crafting custom ones begins, taking into account all of the above aspects.

There are several steps in fabricating a customised denture, designed based on the inputs sought during the initial consultation:

Dental Impressions – At first, dental impressions are taken of your upper and lower jaws, which include the gums and the remaining teeth. There may be two impressions needed – a preliminary and then a final one.

Dental Model – The impressions are then sent to a dental lab, where a dental technician will use them to craft a model of your mouth in stone. This model will be used to create the custom denture.

Customisation – Denture crafting is done using the model with wax blocks, which helps the dental technician determine where the artificial teeth will be placed. Based on the material selected (acrylic, resin, or nylon), the technician builds the base of the denture. At the end, artificial teeth are placed on the base to ensure that the upper and lower teeth fit together correctly.

Polishing – Once the new dentures are created, the technician will polish them for a natural appearance and send them back to the dentist for fitting.

The new dentures are placed in the mouth to check the fit. Your dentist will ensure that no excess pressure is put onto the gums, for which necessary adjustments are made to the denture.

How are Dentures Beneficial?

Dentures offer several benefits. Mostly:

Restore the chewing function of the jaws

Enhance the appearance of the face

Improve speech function

Challenges with Dentures

While dentures work wonders for the replacement of missing teeth, they do come with some challenges, especially the traditional removable ones. Oftentimes, traditional ones become fidgety and tend to slip out of place while speaking or chewing. Further, in the longer term, the jawbone may tend to shrink due to tooth loss, which can cause sunken cheeks that affect facial appearance.