For the millions of Americans missing some or all of their teeth, complete and partial dentures offer an affordable, non-surgical option for restoring the health and function of their smile. Missing teeth can affect more than just your aesthetics—they can also affect your overall health. Missing teeth have been linked to everything from advanced gum disease and bone loss to diabetes and heart disease.
At Bright Now! Dental, we believe everyone deserves a beautiful, healthy smile. We provide complete dentures services in a caring and compassionate environment. To us, it doesn’t matter how or why you lost your teeth. What matters is that we restore your confidence, improve your quality of life, and provide a good foundation for years of good oral health.
Your teeth do a lot of important things. They help speak properly, determine what you can eat, affect how you engage socially, and support the bones and tissue of your facial structure. If you have teeth removed—or fall out—as a result of advanced decay, injury, or infection and you do not replace them, it may become difficult for you to speak, smile, or chew comfortably and your jaw will begin to look sunken in. Dentures help preserve your facial structure and allow your mouth, teeth, and tongue to function as they should.
Full (complete) dentures replace all of the teeth in the upper and lower arch. Some patients may only wear a lower or upper denture, while other patients may need both.
Full dentures are often recommended for people who are either missing most or all of their teeth or will need them removed as a result of severe damage or decay.
Partial dentures replace a group of teeth and can be used if you still have healthy teeth remaining. For example, if you are missing all of your molars but still have your incisors, your dentist may design a partial denture with wires that fit over your front teeth and false teeth to sit in the spaces where your molars were.
Every partial denture is different, and if you lose more teeth after the partial denture is made, your dentists or prosthodontist can often add false teeth to the prostheses as necessary.
Conventional dentures are removable and sit directly on your gums, held in place with dental cement or glue. Conventional dentures are custom-made from an impression your dentist takes of your mouth, then adjusted for ideal fit and comfort.
Conventional dentures tend to be a more affordable option than implant-supported dentures, require no surgical procedures, and can be removed if they become uncomfortable, all while providing the support your jaws and mouth need for proper facial structure. They may also be the better solution for people who do not have the bone density or health to withstand a surgical implant procedure or who have conditions like diabetes or autoimmune disorders that would prevent them from healing properly after surgery.
Implant-supported dentures—also called overdentures—are permanent prostheses attached to your gums via tiny titanium screws, or posts, that have been implanted into your jawbone to imitate tooth roots. Implant-supported dentures are more stable and fit more securely than removable ones, so they do not move when you talk or chew and do not require dental adhesive. They often look and feel more natural than conventional dentures.
However, implant-supported dentures do require a fairly extensive surgical procedure. First, the implants are placed into the jawbone and below the gum line through incisions made in the gum. The gums are then closed up over the implants, which, over the next three to six months, will undergo a process called osseointegration, where the implants fuse with the jaw bone.
Once your gums have healed and osseointegration is complete, you will have a second procedure during which the implants are uncovered and fitted with an abutment, a metal piece that will serve as the connecting point for your new false teeth. Your mouth will again need to heal following this procedure, then you can be fitted with the dentures.
There are additional procedures you may need prior to the actual implant surgery, to prepare your mouth and jaws for implants. These might include tooth extraction, root canals, and bone or gum grafts.
If you have had teeth extracted, your dentist will typically want to wait until after your gums and jaw have healed before fitting you for custom dentures. However, there is a type of dentures called immediate dentures that the dentist can place on your jaw immediately after an extraction, so you don’t have to go without teeth while you heal.
It can take patients anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to feel completely comfortable wearing their new dentures. A little soreness or tightness in your jaw or cheeks early on is normal as your muscles get used to chewing with the dentures, and you may have difficulty making certain sounds at first. Sticking to soft foods in the first few weeks can help ease the transition of chewing while, with a little patience and practice, you’ll be able to soon speak normally and clearly.
With proper care, your dentures will last for many years. However, you should see your prosthodontist or dentist at least once a year to make sure they are still fitting comfortably and correctly. This is because your mouth can change shape over the years and make dentures that used to fit well feel loose or unsecured.
You can prolong the life of your dentures with proper cleaning habits, including removing the dentures every night to brush them with toothpaste, rinse, and soak in a denture cleaning solution, as well as good oral hygiene, such as brushing your gums and any remaining teeth twice a day, before you put your dentures in and after you take them out. Brushing your gums and remaining teeth can also help stimulate circulation in your gums to prevent irritation and keep gum disease at bay.
If your dentures begin irritating your gums, rubbing on them, or feeling uncomfortable, schedule an appointment with a dentist—don’t try to reshape or refit them yourself.
Many dental insurances will cover part or even all of the cost of dentures, which is unique to every patient. Implant-supported dentures tend to cost more than conventional, but they are a permanent solution that rarely needs adjusting or replacement. Needing only an upper or lower set as opposed to a full set will affect how much you pay, as well as whether they are full or partial dentures, though partial dentures are not necessarily less expensive than full dentures since they have to fit around existing teeth.
Ultimately, there is no price you can put on a beautiful, healthy smile, and Bright Now! Dental offers a variety of ways to help you afford dentures. We accept almost all major insurance plans and provide flexible payment plans with low interest rates, extended terms, affordably monthly payments, and no or low-down payment. Patients without insurance can take advantage of Bright Now! Dental’s OneSmile Dental plan, for 20%-40% off all dental services and free dental exams and x-rays for one low annual fee.
Bright Now! Dental offers convenient, comprehensive, and compassionate dental care, including dentures. With multiple retail locations and flexible financing options and payment plans, we work hard to make getting the dentures you need affordable and stress-free. Find the Bright Now! location nearest you, schedule an appointment, and start smiling brighter!
Orthodontics may be provided by general dentists.
