Happy dentures, happy you: how to master your new false teeth
With dentures, a dentist can replace some or all of your natural teeth. At Sheen Dental Implants in Richmond we offer modern denture-based solutions to tooth loss, designed to give you new teeth that are both functional and attractive in appearance.
It can take a little time to get used to life with dentures, but there are some helpful tips you can follow to ensure that your transition to life with false teeth is as easy as possible. At our Richmond practice we highly recommend the use of dental implants to stabilise your dentures. This alleviates many of the common problems reported by denture-wearers, which are usually caused by shrinkage of the jaw bone.
The jaw bone is likely to shrink or resorb when the natural teeth are missing for any period of time. Standard dentures only replace the crowns of the teeth, but the roots are vitally importance to keeping your jaw bone strong and healthy.
Common denture issues include:
- Difficulty eating chewy or hard foods
- Problems with or changes to your speech
- Sore gums from poorly-fitting dentures rubbing them
- Issues with self-confidence
At our Richmond practice, we can solve and/or prevent all of these problems by using dental implants to stabilise your dentures. Implants are titanium tooth root replacements, which help to keep preserve the density of your jaw bone, as well as holding your teeth firmly in your mouth.
Denture stabilisation involves the placement of a series of implants in one or both jaws. We carry out implant placement under local anaesthetic or conscious sedation at our Richmond dental practice, and can also perform bone grafts or bone expansion procedures if necessary to restore density to your bone.
Once your dentures are fitted, you need to take good care of them. This includes visiting your Richmond dentist and hygienist regularly, and cleaning your false teeth at least twice a day.
Dentures can be permanently attached to dental implants, or may still be removable. If they are permanently attached to your implants, you hygienist will teach you how to clean them. Removable varieties should be brushed and cleaned with denture solution.