How Dentures Can Help More Than Just Your Smile
One of the most rewarding parts of my job is helping patients regain their confidence and comfort through dentures. I understand that tooth loss can be a sensitive experience, which is why I take the time to design dentures that look natural, feel comfortable, and restore proper function. My goal is always to help you smile, speak, and eat with ease.
What are dentures?
Dentures simply mean prosthetics that replace missing teeth. There are two types of dentures: fixed dentures, meaning you, the patient, cannot remove them, and removable dentures, meaning you, the patient, can and should remove them to allow your gums to rebound from the wear. A dentist would recommend getting dentures if you are missing a tooth or more than one tooth. Keep in mind that nowadays, we have better options if you're missing teeth, such as dental implants.
Dental implants are a way to give you back dentures that are fixed, meaning that you do not have to remove them. When we speak of dentures, people more often than not think of removable dentures, but both fixed and removable are given to patients when they are missing one or more teeth.
What are the two alternatives to dentures?
The two alternatives basically are removable dentures and fixed dentures. One of the unfortunate parts about dental implants is that they can be costly, but if someone really wants them, often they find a way to get them. That is the better long-term outcome that you want to see: to have a dental implant. It does retain the bone, which can recede after tooth loss. A dental implant is by far the best option, but there is the big expense.
We can also do bridges. A dental bridge is a fixed denture. However, you do have to grind teeth in front and behind the missing tooth. It's not common anymore, especially with implant options and removable dentures. Removable dentures are the most cost-effective way to give you back your tooth, and you can chew and function with it. But the drawback is you do have to take it out, and sometimes people's self-confidence is not the best if they have prostheses that come out.
What are dentures made of?
The most common old-fashioned dentures are made of plastic resin. The pink part of the gum part is plastic, and the white part can be plastic, porcelain, or ceramic. Nowadays, there's something called zirconia. You may have heard of 'all on X.' Basically, you can have a denture that can also be resin screwed onto dental implants. Instead of making it red, you can also have porcelain, and that portion can also be pink to replace your missing teeth.
Why do people end up needing dentures?
Sometimes people end up in a situation where they have no teeth. Sadly, because of fear of going to the dentist, by the time they do show up, they're in massive pain. It's been many years since they've seen a dentist. Fear unfortunately tends to cause people not to seek dental care, but by the time they do, it's too late and teeth have to be removed. Sometimes we just numb our patients and remove one or two teeth. Sometimes we have to sedate our patients all the way to general anesthesia, where we have an anesthesiologist come to our office and put you to sleep. By that point, it's either that or face some really poor health outcomes.
How do you clean your dentures?
The best way to clean your denture is to see your dentist routinely. For a denture that comes out of your mouth, you can buy certain denture cleaning solutions at your local pharmacy. Even so, you need to have your denture and gums inspected at least once a year if you have no teeth. There are some other diseases that can occur even if you don't have any teeth that need to be monitored.
You can clean your removable dentures at home, but fixed dentures, bridges, and implants must be treated like your normal teeth. You need to floss and see your dentist routinely. Any issues can be addressed easily if caught early, but if allowed to fester, it can lead to a loss of your entire dentition.
When we remove all the teeth from someone, they come in with teeth and leave without them. It takes a couple of weeks to heal. Keep in mind that healing varies for everyone. The healing process has an acute phase, meaning it heals quickly in about two weeks, and then there is the long-term phase. Believe it or not, you can remove a tooth today, and 5-10 years later, the bone continues to resorb. If you've ever seen someone without teeth who has had missing teeth for many years, they look deformed when they take their denture out. Healing is an ongoing process. As long as we are alive, bone is always changing and remodeling. Once you lose a tooth, it heals the acute phase within a couple of weeks, but it's always changing for the rest of your life.
How much do dentures cost?
Denture costs vary widely. The less expensive removable denture can cost between $1,500 and $5,000. More elaborate and technically involved options, like dental implants, can range up to $100,000 for many implants with dentures that are fixed in your mouth and cannot be removed. So, there's a big cost range to consider.
Sometimes insurance will help pay, but most insurances only cover between $1,000 and $2,000 per calendar year. If you have a $50,000 bill and your insurance pays $1,000, you may not be very happy. There's a debate about whether dental insurance is worth the expense.
In my opinion, it is not unless your employer provides it at no cost to you. If it's free and you get between $1,000 - $2,000 per year, that's better than nothing. The most important thing I can tell you is that your natural teeth are far better than any prosthesis humans can generate, whether fixed or removable, inexpensive or super expensive. There's nothing as good as your teeth. Please maintain your teeth to begin with. It'll save you a lot of money, pain, aggravation, and headaches. Hang on to your teeth—it's the best way to go.
How do I know if dentures are right for me?
If you find yourself thinking you might need dentures, call us here at Riverside Center for Esthetic Dentistry at (951) 904-3164. We will be happy to evaluate your mouth to see if you need dentures.
I hope we've been able to answer some of your questions on dentures, but if you have any additional questions, please call us here at (951) 904-3164. We're always here to help you at Riverside Center for Esthetic Dentistry.