Dentures – Downers Grove, IL
A Lifelike Solution to Replace Lost Teeth
Losing some or all your teeth can affect how you look as well as your dental and general health. Replacing them sooner rather than later improves your ability to eat and speak while enhancing your appearance so you look and feel more like yourself.
Dr. Shuaipaj at Dentique Dental of Downers Grove can provide a lifelike solution to restore lost teeth with dentures. Continue reading to learn more about these prosthetics, and feel free to contact us for additional information.
Who’s a Good Candidate for Dentures?
Whether you are missing several teeth or an entire arch, Dr. Shuaipaj can customize dentures to meet your unique needs. However, before proceeding, he must examine your mouth to ensure no issues, like gum disease, interfere with the results. You must also have sufficient jawbone density to support your restoration, which sometimes requires an additional bone graft procedure to bulk it up if it’s too thin. Read on to learn more about dentures and who is a good candidate.
Effects of Missing Teeth
Tooth loss has a huge effect on your overall well-bring. According to the American Academy of Periodontology, there are various consequences of missing teeth. They include facial sagging, difficulty speaking, challenges while eating, and low self-esteem. When you replace your missing teeth with dentures, you can improve all of these areas and your quality of life.
What Qualifies You for Dentures?
Dentures are ideal for people who are missing multiple teeth. Depending on the number of teeth that you are missing and where they are located in your mouth, we can put together a treatment plan to meet your needs. The main qualification that you must meet is being in good oral health. This means that if you have any existing dental issues, like tooth decay or gum disease, they need to be eliminated ahead of time. After your existing teeth and gums are healthy, we can move forward with the rest of the dentures process.
Alternative Tooth-Replacement Options
If dentures don’t seem like a good fit for you, there are other solutions available that you might benefit from. Here are the other options that we offer:
- Dental Bridge: A dental bridge works by “bridging” the gap in your smile with a replacement tooth. The replacement tooth is called a “pontic,” and it is supported by two decay crowns that are placed on the adjacent teeth.
- Dental Implants: A dental implant is a titanium, screw-like post that is surgically inserted into the jawbone to support replacement tooth. To get a dental implant, you must have a strong enough jaw. Dental implants have a high upfront cost, but they are made to last for many decades.
Types of Dentures
Dentures are a versatile solution that can replace several or all your teeth with a single prosthetic. After your initial consultation, Dr. Shuaipaj might recommend one of the following options based on his findings:
Full Dentures
This is the tried-and-true solution for tooth loss and is probably what you picture when you think of dentures. These have an acrylic, gum-colored base that creates a firm suction against your gum tissues to restore an entire arch. If your jawbone is too flat, you may require an additional bone graft to bulk it up before proceeding.
Partial Dentures
If you’ve lost teeth sporadically throughout your mouth, you might do better with partial dentures. These appliances can close one or more gaps in your grin. They have an acrylic base that’s fitted with the correct number of pontics (teeth) that anchor to healthy teeth in your mouth via metallic clasps.
Implant Dentures
This is the only type that includes titanium rods surgically embedded into your jawbone to anchor a full set of dentures. They’re often recommended to prevent bone loss degeneration or for patients who struggle with frequently ill-fitting prosthetics.
The Benefits of Dentures
Dentures remain a popular solution for tooth loss because they provide many advantages, including:
- Realistic appearance. Your one-of-a-kind prosthetic is customized at every stage of creation to look just like your natural teeth and gums so you can smile confidently.
- Restored chewing power. A good portion of your original bite force is recovered so you can enjoy a wider variety of wholesome foods to support your dental and overall health.
- Improved enunciation. Gaps in your grin can result in a lisp or other changes to your speaking patterns. Dentures fill them in so you can relearn how to pronounce various words more clearly.
- Cost-effective. They tend to be less expensive than alternatives like dental bridges or implants and can last for years with the proper care.
- Easy maintenance. Keeping them in good shape is as simple as removing them twice daily to brush and floss them and leaving them to soak in a glass of water or a cleaning solution overnight.