Dental Prosthetics

 Dental Prosthetics

Caring for Your Mouth and Gums with Dentures

                     (Fishman, 2021)

What are Dentures?

Dentures are removable prosthetics that help replace any missing teeth. Dentures are usually removable and attach to the surrounding gums and tooth structure to help support them. There are some occasions when dental prosthesis may be fixed and can not be removed from the mouth (Spring Complete Care Dentistry, n.d.). The following fixed dental prosthesis can include 

  • Bridges 

  • Crown + Implant 

Bridges are a great option to replace 1 or 2 teeth but cannot be applied when a patient has 2 or more missing teeth as bridges are anchored with a natural tooth (Spring Complete Care Dentistry, n.d.). 

Types of Dentures 

There are two types of dentures and they are either partial or complete dentures. Partial dentures help replace one or more missing teeth whereas complete dentures help replace a full arch of teeth. Partial dentures are a good choice option when there are still remaining natural teeth. Other reasons why partial dentures are a better option include:

  • Patient is dependable with great oral self-care/ home care

  • Remaining teeth are in good shape to help support the denture 

  • Patient can tolerate dentures 

(Spring Complete Care Dentistry, n.d.)

Complete Dentures

Complete dentures as mentioned earlier help replace a whole arch of teeth, complete dentures are a great option, when there are no supporting natural teeth or the natural teeth, are not in a healthy state. It is important to remember that complete dentures are a great way to replace many teeth at once but it takes a lot of time to adjust to the oral cavity and many things such as chewing strength and taste ability will forever be compromised (Spring Complete Care Dentistry, n.d.). 

Dentures FAQ | Dentist Spring TX | Spring Complete Care Dentistry 

(Spring Complete Care Dentistry, n.d.)

What are Snap-in Dentures?

Snap-in dentures like complete dentures help replace multiple missing teeth but instead with snap-in dentures many dental implants are placed into the jawbone to help hold the snap-in dentures in place (Vermes, 2020). Complete dentures and partial dentures can sometimes slip out and move around but with snap-in dentures, this problem is essentially eliminated. The benefits of snap-in dentures include:

  • Can be removable for cleaning purposes 

  • Much more stable than traditional dentures 

  • Fit better and more comfortable 

  • The jawbone is preserved 

  • Improve chewing ability 

(Vermes, 2020)

Snap-in Dentures - Eva Boldridge DMD PA Houston Texas

(Boldridge, 2022)

A reminder that it is very important to go over and discuss some of the options of dental prosthetics with a dental professional to help guide and decide the best options. 

 

References:

Boldridge, E. (2022). Snap-in dentures. https://www.drevab.com/houston-tx/snap-in-dentures/

Fishman, S. (2021, March 20). Caring for your mouth and gums with dentures. https://www.healthgrades.com/right-care/oral-health/caring-for-your-mouth-and-gums-with-dentures

Spring Complete Care Dentistry. (n.d.) Concerns about dental prosthetics. https://www.springdds.com/dental-concerns-prosthetics.html

Vermes, K. (2020, March 23). What you need to know about snap-in dentures. https://www.healthline.com/health/snap-in-dentures

Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 3, 2022 at 8:30 AM

    As dental hygienists, we must educate denture wearers on the importance of denture care to ensure their denture not only remains clean, but their gingival tissues don’t become red and inflamed and cause discomfort during denture wear. Full dentures and partial dentures must be cleaned daily and removed at night during sleep to allow tissues to breathe. A denture can be cleaned using a denture cleaning tablet liquid solution, using a denture brush and lukewarm water to remove biofilm, or a mixture of a denture brush and cleaning substance. In addition, the denture solution must be compatible with acrylic and must not be corrosive to the gingiva and partial metal frame. Moreover, clients should not use toothpaste to clean a denture since it is too abrasive to be used on acrylic dentures and could scratch the surface of a denture. A great tip when cleaning a denture is ensuring that it is done over a sink or container filled with lukewarm water, a folded mat, or a folded towel to cushion the denture if it is to slip and fall during cleaning (Harris, Garcia-Godo, & Nielsen, 2014, pp. 209-210). Lastly, vinegar and/or bleach should not be used to clean a denture due to their corrosiveness, which can alter the shade of the denture, can irritate tissues, and leave an unpleasant aftertaste (Harris, Garcia-Godo, & Nielsen, 2014, p. 212).

    Reference
    Harris, N.O., Garcia-Godoy, F., & Nielsen Nathe, C. (2014). Primary preventive dentistry (8th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall Pearson.

    Publish by: Dayana Garcia Funes

    ReplyDelete
  2. Eda AsikAugust 3, 2022 at 12:35 PM

    Hi Dayana,
    Thank you for sharing this informative comment on denture care and the importance of denture care. This blog was specifically to teach seniors about the differences between dentures and other dental prosthetics. For further information on denture care, I have also provided a vlog on this specific topic and in the vlog, I have provided the steps to great denture care. However, I do appreciate how you mentioned the dentures should be cleaned on top of a sink and toothpaste should not be used since it can damage the dentures.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Oral Health and Systemic Health Link

Image
  The Oral-Systemic Connection, 2021. Often dental hygiene is thought of as being as simple as keeping your teeth clean. Most people don’t know how it is so much more important than that. There has been evidence showing an important link between oral health and systemic health. Both affecting each other. (Kapila, 2021).  Periodontal disease occurs when bacteria infects the surrounding tissues of teeth eventually causing recession of the gums and surrounding bone. (CDC, 2013). If this is mixed with a susceptible person due to systemic health, both conditions can be negatively affected (Kapila, 2021).                       Especially notable conditions and habits are diabetes, obesity, pregnancy, eating disorders, smoking, liver disease, cancer and heart disease. In further detail, the body has all different kinds of bacteria just like the oral cavity does. Susceptible people may have a decreased immune system and allow thes...
Read more

Oral Hygiene

  Our oral health is largely impacted by the steps we take at home to keep our mouths clean. In order to maintain a clean and healthy mouth, it is important to remove the dental plaque from the teeth and gums a minimum of twice a day. This is done by brushing, flossing and using other oral hygiene aids. It is especially important for the elderly to have a good home care routine for their mouths because it reduces the potential of developing oral diseases such as dental caries and periodontal disease.  Our mouths naturally contain lots of bacteria. Throughout the day, these bacteria along with food debris form dental plaque on our teeth (NIDCR, 2020). If the dental plaque is not removed regularly it can lead to the formation of calculus and other complications. Calculus occurs on the dentition when the plaque has not been removed. The plaque hardens and becomes calculus and then it can only be removed by seeing your dental hygienist. Plaque that is left on the teeth can also le...
Read more