How are you fitted for a denture?

As with all dental procedures, have your dentist do a thorough dental check-up. Full dentures, need an examination of the mouth and a health assessment of the gums.

You will have a check-up at your dentist’s, that includes a full examination of your teeth, gums and other soft tissues of your mouth, for a partial denture. X-rays will be taken to make sure the teeth are healthy, and strong enough to support a denture.

This is followed by teeth impressions, bite records, some trial wax insertions and finally, the insertion and instructions.

Your natural teeth were not designed to support a denture, although some removable dentures rely on help from your natural teeth to keep them in. There may be some type of modification of your natural teeth needed to improve the wearability and life of your denture.

What is a denture?

If, for whatever reason, you are unlucky enough to have lost all or some of your teeth, you will need dentures to replace them; you may have a full denture (replacing all the teeth), or a partial denture (replacing some of your teeth). You usually only remove your dentures for cleaning.

Dentures are not to be confused with a crown or bridge. Full dentures and partial dentures are plates the wearer can remove and replace as they choose. A bridge or a crown cannot be removed – it is cemented in place.

How long will I have to wait without teeth?

There are some removable dentures that are made to be inserted immediately after the removal of teeth (or a tooth); they are called ‘immediate dentures’, and replace a single tooth or many teeth. Your dentist will perform all the steps necessary for immediate dentures; and these are what you want.

If you have chosen to be fitted with a conventional denture, you may have to wait for 6 to 8 weeks until your mouth has fully healed.

Every 6 months you should have a partial denture and a natural teeth check-up. For a full denture, have a check-up every 1 – 2 years, unless you start having gum problems and then visit your dentist immediately.

Do I need to have my denture relined?

The extractions and the fitting of the immediate denture, are followed by rapid bone shrinkage, and your denture will need the fitting surface relined once the shrinking has slowed. The relining will be done from 3 to 6 months after the immediate denture has been fitted.

Relining will involve an additional fee, but it’s cheaper than a new set of dentures and you will probably be much happier with a better fit.

Natural changes in the mouth will cause dentures to lose their fit.

Avoid chewing gum or biting your nails when you have dentures; grinding your teeth is something else to avoid.

See your dentist every year or two years in case relining is necessary; even losing weight can cause the need of a denture reline.