If you’re missing permanent teeth, but don’t want dental implants, consider dentures. Dentures provide a quicker, safer, and more affordable tooth replacement option. At Advanced Oral Dynamics, general, cosmetic, and implant specialist Tejas Patel, DDS, and the team offer a wide range of dentures, including partial, full, and implant-supported overdentures. To make an appointment, call the office in Allentown, Pennsylvania, or book online today.
Dentures are oral prosthetics that replace some (or all) of your permanent teeth and the surrounding tissues. They provide an affordable and removable alternative to fixed appliances, like bridges and dental implants.
At Advanced Oral Dynamics, the team offers several types of dentures, including:
Partial dentures look similar to an orthodontic retainer and replace a few of your teeth. A partial denture has several false teeth and a metal framework. The framework attaches to small clasps that your dentist bonds to your existing teeth.
Full dentures replace an entire arch of teeth. They feature a metal baseplate (shaped like a horseshoe), plastic or acrylic gums, and false teeth. Full dentures rest on top of your gums. You apply an adhesive to the bottom to prevent them from moving out of position.
If you don’t want to remove your dentures regularly, consider implant-supported overdentures. These dentures are similar to full dentures. The difference is that they attach to dental implants –– titanium posts that fuse with your jawbone.
Implant-supported overdentures don’t slip or slide around. In addition, with good oral hygiene, they often last a lifetime*.
At Advanced Oral Dynamics, the process for getting dentures depends on the type of false teeth you want.
If you want partial or full dentures, your Advanced Oral Dynamics provider takes impressions of your mouth. Then, they send your impressions to a nearby lab that designs and makes a custom denture.
If you want implant-retained overdentures, your Advanced Oral Dynamics provider takes cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans to assess the health of your gums and jawbone.
If you have enough bone to support the implants, your provider inserts a series of posts into your jaw during surgery. Several months later, after your mouth heals, you return to the office and your dentist takes impressions of your mouth.
Then, they send your impressions to a nearby lab that designs and makes a custom set of implant-retained overdentures.
If you get partial or full dentures, it’s vital to remove them several times a day and rinse them in cool tap water. You should also brush them with a soft-bristle toothbrush and soak them in a cleaning solution when you go to bed.
If you have implant-retained overdentures, treat them like your natural teeth. The team at Advanced Oral Dynamics recommends brushing twice daily, flossing at least once a day, and visiting the office two times a year for an oral exam and professional teeth cleaning.
To see if you can benefit from dentures, make an appointment at Advanced Oral Dynamics by calling the office or booking online today.
*Individual results may vary