Dentures – Boston, MA
Let Your Smile Shine with Dentures
Dentures have been around for centuries and are the foundation of modern dentistry, helping countless people restore the function and appearance of their smiles. However, over the last several decades, they’ve become more advanced and lifelike, from the high-quality materials they’re crafted from to the technology used to make them. When you choose Boston Prosthodontics Dental Group for your denture, it will be superior in both fit and function, as well as painstakingly crafted from highly esthetic materials that result in a seamlessly natural, lifelike smile. Better yet, if you decide to anchor them with dental implants, our team can personally handle that stage of the treatment process as well. The start-to-finish convenience and unparalleled expertise of our team of prosthodontists make us a top choice for tooth replacement, so feel free to call our dental office today.
Why Choose Boston Prosthodontics Dental Group for Dentures?
- High-End Materials for Top-Tier Esthetic Results
- Team of Board-Certified Prosthodontists
- Dentist-Patient-Ceramist Collaboration With Extreme Attention to Detail
Who Is a Good Candidate for Dentures?
If you’re considering getting dentures in Boston, we often recommend them for patients who are missing several or all of their teeth and who have enough jawbone density to support them. It’s also ideal for you to treat any lingering oral health problems before receiving your restoration, like cavities and gum disease. Once the full or partial dentures are seated within the mouth, you may be able to enjoy a variety of benefits, most importantly among them, boosted confidence, restored facial appearance, and a new outlook on life.
Effects of Missing Teeth
Missing teeth may be the result of genetics, gum disease, past lifestyle choices, injuries, or other causes. Regardless of why you have an incomplete smile, however, your condition may have serious consequences for your daily life.
For example, large gaps in your smile, as well as the hollow-looking cheeks that often accompany tooth loss, may make you feel self-conscious about your appearance. You could shy away from social situations as a result. You may also find it challenging to eat a wide variety of nutritious foods. You could even struggle to enunciate certain sounds when you are speaking.
Fortunately, dentures can often help with such issues. They have the potential to improve your overall quality of life!
What Qualifies You for Dentures?
You may be a good candidate for dentures if:
- You are missing all or most of your teeth throughout one of your dental arches. If you are missing just one or two teeth, a different treatment option may be better.
- Your gums and jawbone are healthy enough to support prosthetic teeth. If they are not, restorative treatment may be able to prepare them for a denture.
- You are looking for an efficient and cost-effective way to replace your missing teeth.
Alternative Tooth Replacement Options
If dentures are not quite right for you, you may choose to move forward with an alternative tooth replacement option, such as dental implants. Dental implants are small titanium cylinders, or posts, which act as prosthetic tooth roots after they are surgically placed into the jawbone. They fuse with the surrounding tissue and are able to provide an incredibly strong base of support for crowns, bridges, and dentures.
Due to their stability, strength, longevity, and other benefits, dental implants are commonly regarded as the absolute best form of tooth replacement. Although the treatment process for dental implants is more complex than what you would experience with dentures, the end result is well worth it.
Types of Dentures
During your consultation, your prosthodontist will conduct a thorough examination of your mouth to help determine which type of denture would best fit your situation. They’ll also complete a cancer screening just to confirm that there’s nothing worrisome regarding your gums and other oral structures. Depending on your smile goals and our findings, you may be able to decide between a partial, complete, or implant denture.
Partial Dentures
Partial dentures come in many forms to address unique needs. They are normally crafted with a plastic base, metal framework, and artificial teeth that are customized to recreate those that are missing. They attach to nearby teeth with metal clasps or with precision connections built into crowns that have been added to adjacent teeth.
Dental bridges, often called fixed partial dentures, are another option. Fixed partial dentures are made up of one to three artificial teeth that are held in place by dental crowns on teeth adjacent to the gap. If you are looking for a secure and reliable partial denture, you may want to consider implant partials. Just as with implant dentures, partials held in place by implants keep your jawbone strong and healthy by stimulating the bone.
Complete Dentures
Traditional complete dentures are removable restorations that rest gently on your gums and are held in place by suction or with the aid of a dental adhesive. They are created using fracture-resistant acrylic resin for the base and highly esthetic, natural-looking denture teeth..
These lifelike restorations can dramatically improve the appearance and function of your smile. Our in-house dental technicians will work closely with your prosthodontist to achieve a precise fit that looks and feels like natural teeth. Complete dentures are a complex treatment therapy that should be treated by our specialists, and not by a general dentist.
With proper care, conventional dentures should last for a long time. However, they will require some gradual adjustments as the bone in your jaw shrinks from the lack of stimulation that tooth roots provide. Due to these changes, you will periodically need to have your dentures adjusted, relined, or remade.
Implant Dentures
Any type of restoration, including dental bridges and full dentures, can be supported by anywhere from two to eight dental implants that are surgically placed below the gumline and into the jawbone. They act as a replacement for your original tooth roots, providing crucial stimulation and blood flow to the jaw to keep it from resorbing with time, which can also change your facial structure.
When supported by dental implants, full or partial dentures will never slip or shift within the mouth, and they’ll look and function as close to your natural teeth as possible, offering a new lease on your smile.
The Benefits of Dentures
When you invest in dental implants to aid in supporting your complete or partial dentures, you’ll be able to enjoy a variety of benefits, including:
- Boosted confidence as a result of a complete smile.
- Improved oral health.
- Remarkably lifelike replacement teeth.
- Improved biting and speaking abilities.
- Easy to maintain.
- Great longevity & high success rate, especially for implant options.
- Improved nutrition.
Dentures FAQs
The team at Boston Prosthodontics Dental Group has already helped countless patients to enjoy renewed oral function with dentures. If you are interested in rebuilding your smile, we would be delighted to serve you. Before you request a consultation, though, you may be eager to learn more about the path in front of you. Below, you will find answers to some FAQs about dentures. If your questions are not included here, give us a call. We will be happy to provide you with further information.
Should I Have All My Teeth Pulled to Get Dentures?
Whenever possible, it is preferable to restore a damaged tooth rather than replace it. Our team will do all we can to help you retain as much of your natural dentition as possible.
However, there are situations in which it is best to remove teeth in order to make room for dentures. This may be the case if your natural teeth are badly damaged, or gum disease has compromised their base of support.
After a thorough evaluation, our team will recommend a treatment plan that is tailored to your unique needs.
Can I Sleep with My Dentures?
When you first get your denture, we may advise you to wear it for the first 24 hours. Thereafter, though, you should remove it every night when you go to bed. Removing it allows you to thoroughly clean both it and your mouth. It also gives your gums an opportunity to rest so you will be less likely to develop sores.
If you would prefer to keep your teeth in your mouth all the time, you may be a candidate for a fixed implant denture, which can only be removed by a dental professional.
What Is the Average Age for Dentures?
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, roughly two-thirds of adults aged 40 – 64 are missing at least one tooth, and the American Dental Association Estimates that close to 57% of people aged 65 – 74 wear some form of denture.
Of course, just because dentures are more common among older individuals does not mean that younger patients are not eligible for this treatment. Some people in their 20s or 30s wear dentures.
Is It Hard to Talk with Dentures?
Some people develop a slight lisp when they first start wearing their prosthetic. After all, dentures are a foreign object in the mouth, and it can take some time to get used to them. Usually, this issue goes away with practice. Many people find it helpful to read out loud and engage in small talk with their loved ones so they can adapt to speaking with their prosthetic. Ultimately, your speech may be clearer with dentures than it was before you received treatment.