Many people struggle to smile with confidence when their remaining natural teeth are no longer healthy. Receiving a diagnosis from a dental professional that your natural teeth must be removed can not only be disheartening, but in many patients can cause feelings of anxiety.
At Lima Denture and Implant Solutions we have many treatment plans to help our patients transition confidently to an edentulous mouth.One of these treatment plans is to fabricate immediate dentures for the patient. An immediate denture is fabricated prior to the extraction of natural teeth so that it can be placed into the mouth immediately after the removal of the natural teeth. This process enables the denture to act as a bandage during the healing process, while allowing the patient to eat and smile confidently right away.
Over a few weeks time, the gums will begin to heal and swelling will be reduced which will cause the dentures to fit more loosely. As a temporary measure, a soft material can be placed to fill in the space caused by the healing gums to allow the denture to fit more snuggly. Once the gums appear to have completely healed, a permanent hard acrylic will be used to replace all space that remains between the healed gums and the denture. This procedure is known as a reline and will be required every two years or as recommended by your denturist as the gums will continuously recede over time as bone loss occurs without natural teeth in place.
To minimize bone loss and to ensure a stable denture, many patients choose to have dental implants placed at the same time as the extractions of their natural teeth.
The process of fabricating and placing an immediate denture is the same as the gums still need to heal and the dental implants require about 3 months time to osseointegrate (the bone will grow and hold the implants).
The difference with these immediate dentures is that the dentures themselves are temporary. The immediate dentures are used for the 3-month period during osseointegration and once the implants have been tested by the dental surgeon and deemed ready for loading, the new implant-retained dentures are fabricated.
There are many different options available to patients who require natural teeth extractions. All options will ensure that once their teeth are removed patients will leave with a bright new smile that they will be proud to display.
Contact one of our convenient locations today for your free, no obligation consultation and one of our highly qualified denturists will discuss all of the treatment options available to you, answer any questions you may have, and ease your concerns.