If one or more teeth is/are missing, you often need a denture. A denture can be removed from your mouth and requires careful cleaning. There are basically two types of dentures: partial dentures and full dentures.
A partial denture can replace several missing teeth. A partial denture is held in place in the mouth with some small metal braces around some of the teeth remaining in the mouth. The teeth on the denture and the pink that imitates gums are made of acrylic. When making partial dentures, before taking an impression, the dentist has to gently grind the teeth that will keep the denture in place.
As the name suggests, full dentures replace the entire set of teeth. Full dentures are made of acrylic. When teeth are missing, the jawbone breaks down and, in certain cases, can cause problems for a person wearing dentures. In the upper jaw, the full denture usually stays firmly in place with a kind of suction disc effect. In many cases, patients have trouble controlling the lower jaw denture. There is not the same suction disc effect as in the upper jaw. Sometimes it is a good idea to insert implants to keep the denture in place. They serve as a kind of snap system. The implants are fitted with some tiny ball-like connectors that protrude out of the gums, and inside the denture there are little metal cavities for the tiny balls to fit into. For the lower jaw, 2 implants are often sufficient - one on each side to hold the denture in place.
It is important to remember that dentures are foreign bodies that take some getting used to. After insertion, a denture must always be polished to prevent it from causing irritation. This requires several visits to the dentist.
A few tips for cleaning dentures: Use a denture brush, designed to get into most places. Do not brush your denture with toothpaste. Toothpaste is abrasive and may eventually damage the denture. Brush the prosthesis in regular soap with no abrasive agent. If the denture develops tartar, you can place it in a diluted solution of household vinegar for a few hours, and then remove the tartar with a brush.
If you do not keep the denture in your mouth at night, you can place it, for example, on a napkin and allow it to dry. This will kill some of the bacteria on the denture/ You must always clean your denture before re-inserting it into your mouth. It is advisable to sleep without your denture/s from time to time. This gives the mouth’s mucous membrane some air and helps prevent irritation. If redness, tenderness or whitish coating occurs, you must contact your dentist. There may be fungal infection that requires treatment.