Am I Candidate For Dentures?

Smiling old dental patient

Life without a complete set of teeth can be a real challenge, especially if you like foods that require a decent amount of chewing to enjoy. Dentures are a great way to restore your ability to enjoy delicious foods without having to mush them up or use alternative preparations, and they help to preserve your jaw and remaining teeth and improve your appearance at the same time! If you’re wondering if you’re a candidate for dentures, read on!

What Are Dentures?

We’re certain that all of you have seen dentures at one point or another during your life, those removable prosthetics that are used as a replacement for teeth that are damaged or missing. What you may not know is that there is a number of ways you can secure them in place, and that they don’t always have to replace every tooth in your mouth. Dentures are usually a restoration of last resort after all efforts have been made to protect your natural teeth.

What Types Of Dentures Are There?

There are a broad variety of dentures available on the market today, and not all of them are created the same or use the same methods to secure themselves in place. While the old slip-on variety that our grandparents used are still very much available, as are the adhesives which held them in place, dental technology has provided us with alternatives in modern dentistry.

Partial Dentures

Sometimes you don’t need all your teeth replaced, but instead you need a select few replaced to ensure that you have the best chewing platform to work with. This is where partial dentures come in, a great way to restore a few missing teeth rather than all of them. The issue with partials is that they aren’t very secure or very comfortable, but they work when not all your teeth need replaced.

Full Dentures

Full dentures is a bit of a misnomer, they don’t always have to replace all your teeth. Instead they can be used to replace either the upper or lower set of teeth int heir entirety. Since there isn’t much beyond adhesive to hold these on, they sometimes will fall out while you’re chewing and generally aren’t very comfortable, much like partials.

Snap-On Dentures

These are the newest innovation and the gold-standard in dentures. A number of supports are implanted into your jaw which these dentures can be snapped onto, ensuring a secure attachment, comfortable chewing, and no risk of them popping out.

If you’re still wondering if you’re a good candidate for dentures or are looking for more information about any of the options listed above, contact Dr. John Batlle at Southwest Family Dentistry today. Their office serves the Lake City, FL area with excellent dental services by providing options that fit the patients needs and lifestyle. Don’t let missing teeth deprive you of your favorite foods or keep you from flashing a beautiful smile, contact Dr. Batlle today for an appointment and consultation.