What To Expect From Immediate Dentures
Immediate dentures are placed in the mouth directly after the remaining teeth are extracted. This approach is utilized when a person does not want to be without any teeth for several months while extraction tooth sockets heal and a denture is fabricated.
Immediate Dentures Involve a Two-Step Denture Process
Optimally, immediate dentures are the first denture of a two-denture process and should be considered as a temporary interim prosthesis until a second refined and esthetically enhanced denture may be constructed after healing.
First Stage
- Usually, most or all of the back teeth are removed and extraction sites are allowed to heal for a minimum of six weeks or more, depending upon an individual's healing rate.
- After adequate healing, the immediate dentures unit is fabricated.
- The remaining teeth are extracted and the immediate dentures are placed in the mouth. Wearing immediate dentures right away over extractions normally is no more uncomfortable than the extractions alone.
- Discomfort is managed with proper anesthesia and pain medication. Immediate dentures act like a Band Aid bandage, holding tissues together and protecting them during healing.
- Generally, the dentist does not remove immediate dentures until the day after surgery. Surgery is checked and denture adjustments are made as necessary.
- Immediate dentures will gradually become loose because of bone shrinkage as the jaw continues to heal. Provisional liners are placed in the loosening denture to help hold it in place during healing.
- Adhesives also maintain the denture in place as it becomes looser. If immediate dentures become too loose during this healing period of several months, it may be necessary to reline multiple times.
Second Stage
- After adequate healing has occurred, a second refined denture is fabricated. This denture allows the dentist to artistically position teeth in an optimal and enhanced esthetic relationship, which was not possible with immediate dentures. It also is now possible to establish better functional relationships of the jaws.
- Approximately six months after the second denture is delivered, it will most likely need to be relined to compensate for continuing jaw shrinkage. After this reline, a patient usually needs annual relines to accommodate a continually shrinking jaw.
- The frequency of relines is an individual matter unique to each patient and is best determined by a licensed dentist after a thorough periodic examination that should occur at six-month intervals.
Modified Approaches to Immediate Dentures
- It is possible to extract all the back and front teeth at one time and insert immediate dentures. However, such an approach is problematic and generally is discouraged unless the patient has no other alternatives.
- All teeth may be extracted with no interim denture while the jaws heal and a denture is fabricated. This is generally a more economical approach, but an individual would be without teeth for several months.
Advantages of Immediate Dentures
- A person is not without teeth for any extended period of time.
- Immediate dentures act as a bandage while bony tooth sockets are healing after tooth extractions.
Disadvantages of Immediate Dentures
- A second refined and esthetically enhanced denture is necessary soon after the immediate dentures.
- While the cost of immediate dentures is generally about the same as a conventional denture, the second denture needs to be fabricated soon after the immediate denture. Therefore, a person would be experiencing the additional cost of the second denture sooner.
by Joseph J. Massad, D.D.S.
+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.
Avoiding Conventional Partial Dentures and False Teeth
Precision and semi-precision partial dentures, like conventional partial dentures, replace missing natural teeth with artificial teeth. However, the means by which they are retained in the mouth is different than a conventional clasp prosthesis.
To better understand these partial dentures types, it is best to first review the basics of conventional partial denture clasps.
How Conventional Partial Denture Clasps Function
Most partial dentures are usually kept in place by clasps. These are thin finger-like projections of special resilient metal alloy, or, in certain cases, plastic or plastic-like materials.
- Clasps rest on and around certain remaining natural teeth so that their ends extend into narrow areas below a gentler bulge on the tooth. Sometimes it is necessary to shape a tooth or make a crown for a tooth or teeth in order to develop the right amount and relationship of undercut and bulge for retention.
- When a partial denture is placed in the mouth, clasps gently spring over a tooth bulge and rest in a relaxed state within an undercut.
- A partial dentures are held in place during normal eating, speaking and other activities because clasps resist springing back over tooth bulges.
- Clasp resistance to removal is not great enough to prevent a person from comfortably removing their partial denture whenever they choose.
The Problem With Conventional Denture Clasps
Despite numerous successful conventional clasp designs, they do have some drawbacks.
- Clasps may at times become visible. Often, this is unavoidable and usually is not objectionable. However, for some individuals, the show of clasps is simply not acceptable because of personal circumstances and compromised appearance.
- Certain partial false teeth may function better with retentive means other than conventional clasps.
- Remaining natural tooth structures may be inadequate to accommodat conventional clasps. Therefore, dental crown or crowns may need to be fabricated to correct these deficiencies.
Semi-Precision and Precision Partial Dentures -- Viable Alternatives
Alternatives to conventional clasp partial dentures fall into two categories, both of which have no clasps to show.
- Semi-precision partial dentures are retained in the mouth by means of mechanical interlocking components. A specially-shaped extension of the partial denture fits into or onto a complementary receiving area or projection of a natural tooth that has been crowned.
The components fit snugly and consist of a semi-rigid metal-to-other-surface interface, which may also be metal or some other resilient material such as nylon.
- Precision partial dentures are similar to the semi-precision type except that the mechanical interlocking components are manufactured to extremely high tolerances and are held together by precise alignment and a rigid metal-to-metal frictional interface of components.
Advantages of Semi-Precision and Precision Partial Dentures
- A cosmetically-enhanced partial denture as compared to conventional partial dentures
- No show of metal clasps
- Blends in with the conformity of remaining natural teeth
- Functions with a more even pressure on remaining natural teeth than conventional partial dentures
Disadvantages of Semi-Precision and Precision Partial Dentures
- Semi-precision partial dentures are the most costly to fabricate
- Usually some natural teeth need to be crowned
- More difficult to fabricate and adjust
- Some components may need periodic replacement
Which Type of Partial Denture Is Best?
Every patient has unique oral health needs that are best determined by a licensed dentist after a thorough examination.
by Joseph J. Massad, D.D.S.
+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.