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Dentures


People wear dentures to replace missing teeth so they can smile with confidence and enjoy a healthy diet.

Dentures can be used to replace all the natural teeth in the upper or lower jaw or both. This is called a complete denture. This type of denture is usually made of acrylic [plastic] We use high impact acrylic, which makes it very strong. It can also be shaped and shaded to better resemble your natural gums to give a more natural appearance.

A denture can be made to fill spaces left by missing or lost teeth and complete gaps around natural teeth. This is called a partial denture and can be made of acrylic [plastic] or metal. Acrylic partial dentures will cover the palate but may also have clips around any remaining teeth to help hold it up. Suction in the palate isn’t as good when there are teeth present. However partial dentures made of acrylic are very easy to add extra teeth to so they may be recommended if it is felt that more teeth may be lost in the future.

With metal dentures a framework is cast in cobalt chrome metal and the teeth are then built onto this frame work with acrylic to give a natural appearance. Because the framework is metal it can be made very thin and doesn’t need to cover the whole palate to make it stay up. The clips around your own teeth are what hold the denture in place. Metal dentures can be a tighter fit but it is often not possible to add any further teeth to the design so it is often not recommended if the remaining teeth aren’t strong and stable.

In both cases the dentist takes measurements and impressions of the mouth, these are then transferred to a laboratory where the denture is constructed by a dental technician. There are several stages involved in this process so several appointments often on consecutive weeks, will be needed to ensure the denture is a good fit and that the patient is happy with the appearance.

For any further information on wearing and cleaning dentures we suggest the oral health foundation website www.dentalhealth.org and follow the link to dentures.

More information on this, and other dental procedures, can be found on the
Dental Guide website.
If you would like to discuss your dental treatment needs with one of our team or would like to register with our practice please get in touch.

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