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Dentures are not considered the very best form of tooth replacement (that would be dental implants), but for many patients, this is the best they can afford under strained financial circumstances.
In spite of some of their long-term drawbacks, full dentures can serve a person well for a season. For the immediate future, they can help a person eat more easily, speak clearly, and at least have a presentable smile in public.
Over the course of time, we sincerely hope patients are able to invest in dental implants or a full-mouth reconstruction. Until such time as this is practical, however, full dentures can still offer patients benefits in the here and now.
Diagnosis and Treatment
To determine if full dentures are right for you, we first perform a thorough dental exam of your gums and any remaining natural teeth. This exam uses x-rays to see if your jaw bones are healthy. We also take detailed impressions of your upper and lower teeth in order to build an accurate duplicate model of your mouth.
The next step in the examination is the identification and recording of the best positions along the center line of your mouth and along the lip line. This will ensure that your denture teeth look as natural and attractive as can be expected. We also help you select the best color and shape for your new dentures.
There are different types of full dentures, and we also help you decide which type is the best for you.
Standard dentures are made for individuals who have already lost all of their teeth. Standard dentures have been used for many decades now, but over the years, several improvements have been made that make them fit better and feel more comfortably. Standard dentures can now be sized by removing some of the back portion of their surfaces. The only drawback to this is that this weakens the seal that holds them in place.
Full dentures are made for people who have lost most of their teeth in one or both jaws. Many times, dentists have to remove a few remaining teeth that are badly damaged by disease and decay. When this has to be done, full dentures cannot be placed until the gums are totally healed.
If possible, remaining, healthy teeth are kept to give the denture a more secure fit.
Benefits of Dentures
Dentures replace missing teeth, which makes it much easier for people to eat and speak normally. Dentures, to some extent, also help jaws remain and work in their correct to some extent, but they will not prevent the jaw bone from losing mass. However, they do facilitate the proper functioning of the jaw joints and muscles, and they offer some support for lips and cheek muscles that is better than nothing.
A Third Type of Denture: Denture Implants
If you are going to invest in dentures, please be aware that the best kinds of dentures are denture implants. In order to make full dentures truly work as long-term tooth replacements, we strongly recommend that you consider getting denture implants. Denture implants utilize prosthetic rods that anchor dentures to the jawbone. These rods fill in for previously lost tooth roots and stimulate the jaw bone with vibrations that stop bone recession and loss.
Cosmetic Dentistry is a specialized field that requires extensive knowledge and experience to be done correctly. The Medical Center Dental Group in Houston, Texas brings all of that and more to the direct benefit of each and every patient we treat. Although we are located in the world famous Houston Medical Center at Scurlock Towers, we routinely see dental patients who travel from Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Beaumont, Midland and Houston, Texas to see Dr. Dale Brant, Dr. Charles Campbell or Dr. Elizabeth O’Sullivan-Winslow for their cosmetic dentistry services
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