Losing one tooth creates enough challenges in everyday life, but missing several or even all of your teeth can make simple tasks like eating, talking, or even smiling embarrassing or downright impossible. Fortunately, you don’t have to suffer through these inconveniences forever. Our dentists here at Carlson Dental Group can rebuild your smile with dentures in Jacksonville, FL. These high-quality, seamless replacement teeth are custom-made to resemble the teeth you used to have. Give us a call today to learn more about how whether you’re missing a handful or a mouthful of teeth, our dentures can help!
No matter how many teeth you’ve lost, almost anyone can qualify for dentures. Whether you’re missing one tooth or many won’t affect your candidacy. Still, you should consult our dentists before you fully commit to a denture treatment. They’ll quickly assess your smile with an oral exam, checking to see if care would suit your smile. Even if you don’t qualify at first, you can become a candidate later with preliminary treatments; our other restorations are also good options.
You ought to review tooth loss causes and effects as you consider dentures. That way, you’ll know what treatment can do for your grin.
The truth is that people can lose teeth for many reasons. For instance, your tooth could fall out from severe decay or a long-term infection. Similarly, someone may lose a tooth from gum disease – an issue that erodes the tissue supporting teeth. Others could even have a tooth or two knocked out by an accident.
In contrast, the effects of tooth loss are severe but narrow. The most immediate one is that the problem makes everyday tasks – eating, speaking, etc. – harder. Once you’ve lost teeth, the resulting “gaps” can also tilt your other teeth and slowly erode your jaw. The spaces also allow harmful oral bacteria to breed.
As stated above, most adults with missing teeth can qualify for dentures. The treatment doesn’t require that you meet very strict criteria. Even so, you should note three major points.
Firstly, you need good oral health for dentures to work. Weak jaw and gum tissues won’t be able to support the final prosthetic. On the contrary, they’d cause your denture(s) to quickly fall from your mouth. The only exceptions are minor oral issues; dentures can replace sensitive or decayed teeth.
Next, the number of lost teeth will affect the kind of denture you get. Those who’ve lost a few will only need a partial denture, which only replaces some chompers. Meanwhile, we may suggest a full denture if you need to replace a whole arch of teeth.
You should also track your finances as you pursue treatment. After all, dentures are the least costly tooth replacement option at most dental practices. That means they’re ideal for patients with limited budgets.
Remember, you don’t need to panic if you don’t qualify for dentures. You can always check out our practice’s other tooth replacement options. These include:
Learn More About Dental Bridges
Learn More About Dental Implants
To ensure your new pearly whites look as natural as the ones you were born with, we take specialized impressions of your mouth using digital methods. This technology allows us to skip the messy, foul-tasting putty that used to be used for impressions! Now, all we have to do is scan your mouth, and a highly accurate model of your denture will be ready within minutes.
Learn More About Our Advanced Dental Technology
If you’re looking for a fast, affordable way to replace your missing teeth, you may be a candidate for dentures. The process of getting dentures is relatively quick. It also does not require oral surgery like dental implants do. However, there is always the option of supporting your denture with implants in the future if you would like a sturdier solution.
Generally, most people who have lost multiple or all of their teeth are eligible for dentures. Once we examine your smile at a consultation, we can develop a personalized treatment plan to meet your unique smile needs.
Depending on the extent of your tooth loss, as well as your specific oral health needs and desires, we may recommend one of the following three types of dentures.
As their name suggests, full dentures are designed to bring back an entire arch of missing teeth at once. A full row of replacement teeth sits on top of a pink acrylic base that rests on the gums. Natural suction (and possibly a bit of denture adhesive) keeps it in place, and it can be removed for easy cleaning.
You may qualify for a partial denture if you’re only missing some teeth but would like to preserve the rest. Like full dentures, partials consist of artificial teeth on a gum-colored base. However, they are secured behind your remaining teeth with metal clasps instead of simply sitting on the gums. They are also designed to be removable.
If you’re looking for a more reliable and permanent tooth replacement, we often suggest implant dentures. A full or partial denture can be anchored onto a small number of titanium posts that have been surgically placed in the jawbone. Implant dentures can be either fixed or removable, and they last significantly longer than traditional dentures because they stimulate the jawbone like natural tooth roots do.
Once you decide to commit to dentures, you can look to the future with excitement! After a careful design process, you will be the owner of a prosthetic that is comfortable, beautiful, and highly functional. Would you like to learn some details about what dentures are made of and how they are created? Below, you will find some fascinating information. It might just increase your appreciation for the new teeth that you will soon enjoy.
Dentures have two main parts:
The denture creation process involves multiple steps:
From beginning to end, the denture creation process may take several weeks or longer. We strive to make it as efficient as possible.
It may take a few weeks or a few months before you completely adjust to your new dentures. In the meantime, you might experience some mild soreness, as well as increased saliva production and/or a slight lisp. Such issues usually go away with time and practice. If you have any questions or concerns while you are getting used to your new teeth, simply reach out to our team. We will do all we can to assist you.
Dentures have been around for many years, making them a tried and tested solution for extensive tooth loss. That being said, today’s dentures are much more comfortable and modern than the ones your grandparents used to wear. They offer a wide range of benefits, improving overall quality of life. Continue reading to learn about the different advantages dentures have to offer.
If you don’t have any healthy teeth remaining, this can be challenging to accept. Many people who have lost most of or all of their teeth encounter negative effects on their self-confidence, resulting in higher levels of sadness and depression. By restoring your smile with dentures, you can feel better about your self-image, reducing anxieties about your appearance, speech articulation, chewing ability, and more.
Making certain sounds and saying different words can be difficult when you have gaps in your smile. To enunciate your words properly, your lips and tongue need to be in the right position. When you are missing teeth, your tongue isn’t able to be positioned properly, making some words very challenging to say. Because dentures act as your missing teeth, they give you the ability to talk like you used to.
Many nutrient-dense foods are tough in texture. This includes healthy proteins, fruits, and vegetables. If you can’t chew these foods, your eating habits are negatively affected, resulting in poor dietary choices and indigestion. When you have dentures, you can chew more easily, allowing you to enjoy a more expansive diet.
If you have healthy natural teeth, dentures can help you to keep them in tip-top shape. When you fill in the gaps with a partial denture, you can keep the surrounding teeth from shifting around. Dentures also help to bear some of the weight of regular biting and chewing, limiting the wear and tear of natural teeth.
When you are attending interviews, negotiating sales, and attending social events, making an excellent first impression is key. Since your smile is one of the first things that people notice about you, having one that appears healthy will do nothing but help. Studies have shown that the probability of being employed is negatively associated with having poor oral health.
If you’re curious about what it’s like to get dentures in Jacksonville, our team at Carlson Dental Group would love to help! We want you to feel 100% confident in any decisions you make regarding your oral health, especially one as major as replacing your missing teeth. Many of our patients have questions before beginning the denture process, so we’ve decided to answer several of the most frequently asked questions we get below. Of course, feel free to request an appointment if you have any additional concerns!
We strongly recommend that if you wear removable dentures, you should never let 24 hours pass without taking them out of your mouth. Sleeping with your dentures doesn’t give your gums and jawbone a chance to recover from the stress of holding your prosthesis in place all day. As a result, your gums could become irritated or inflamed and more vulnerable to infection. To prevent this, we suggest removing your denture before bed and letting it soak in a glass of room-temperature water or denture cleaning solution overnight.
You’ll definitely want to clean your dentures daily to prevent them from harboring food debris and bacteria. However, any denture dentist in Jacksonville can tell you that you should never use regular toothpaste to clean your dentures. Toothpaste is actually abrasive to the materials that your false teeth are made from. Over time, toothpaste can leave microscopic scratches on the denture’s surface that cause serious damage.
Instead of toothpaste, use a specially formulated denture cleanser to disinfect your prosthetic teeth. You could also use mild dishwashing liquid or hand soap. Remember to use a soft toothbrush in order to prevent your denture from becoming worn.
Learning to eat with dentures can take some time – usually several weeks to a few months – but afterward, you should be able to enjoy most foods as long as you chew carefully. Stabilizing your dentures with a small amount of adhesive can prevent them from slipping during the adjustment process.
There are a few types of foods that you should limit or avoid when you have dentures, as they could damage your prosthesis or pull it out of place. These include:
After the loss of the natural teeth, the jawbone gradually starts to break down, as the body realizes that bone mass is no longer needed there to support the teeth. Over time, this jawbone deterioration can cause it to change shape to the point where your dentures don’t fit as comfortably as they once did. Not only that, but the muscles in your face may start to lose support, resulting in a sunken, wrinkled, and overall older appearance.
Although getting dentures restores some support to collapsed facial tissues, it won’t entirely prevent jawbone loss. The only way to avoid or even reverse this process is by securing denture onto dental implants. The posts strengthen your jawbone in exactly the same way as natural teeth, preventing breakdown.