Dentures – Spring Hill, TN

Effects of Missing Teeth

As a precaution, the consultation starts by reviewing tooth loss’s causes and effects. This step helps you grasp how treatment could benefit your oral health.

Ultimately, people can lose teeth for a wide range of reasons. A patient’s tooth could, for instance, decay so much that it falls out or needs extraction. Another person may suffer gum disease, which wears down the bone and tissue holding teeth in place. Yet others could have their teeth knocked out from physical force, likely due to a sports injury or accident.

Despite the variety of causes, tooth loss’s effects are consistently harsh. Losing teeth almost always makes everyday tasks – eating, speaking, smiling, etc. – harder. Worse yet, the gaps caused by missing teeth erode your jaw. (This erosion then triggers facial collapse if left alone.) Those same spaces can subsequently cause even more tooth loss.

What Qualifies You for Dentures?

As said earlier, most patients can qualify for dentures if they lack teeth. There are, however, other qualifying factors to consider.

Your general oral health is one such consideration. For example, dentures only work if a patient’s gum and jaw tissues are healthy enough. A good treatment candidate is thus strongly committed to dental care. Furthermore, tooth loss isn’t the only condition dentures can treat. These restorations can also replace sensitive or decaying teeth.

The number of missing teeth is also a relevant fact. Depending on how many are gone, you’ll need one of two possible denture types. One might be the partial denture, which only replaces a few teeth. In contrast, you may need a full one if all (or most) of your pearly whites along an arch are missing.

Money is also a vital issue to assess in denture treatment. New teeth, after all, don’t come free; they have an attached expense. Luckily, it so happens that dentures are cheaper than

Alternative Tooth-Replacement Options

In the event you’re not a good dentures candidate, don’t worry. We at Family Dental Associates of Spring Hill have other tooth replacement options. In fact, there are two such procedures you could try. These are:

• Dental Bridges – Fixed restorations, dental bridges are made of two (or more) crowns fused to a pontic. They only replace one or a few teeth, so they rely on natural pearly whites to support themselves.
• Dental Implants – Dental implants are prosthetic teeth placed in the jawbone. As such, they gradually fuse with the jaw over time. However, this fusion requires healthy bone tissue and can make implant treatment expensive.

Learn More About Dental Bridges

Learn More About Dental Implants

Psychological Benefits

If you have missing teeth, you’re more likely to struggle with your confidence because the sudden changes in your abilities can leave you feeling frustrated or depressed. Plus, you might worry about how others will perceive the alterations in your appearance.

You can boost your self-esteem with lifelike dentures that are customized to look and feel just like the teeth that you’ve lost. With these lifelike restorations in place, you can once again enjoy meals, conversations, and social interactions without wondering if you’re being judged.

Clearer Enunciation

Your teeth are crucial to your ability to speak clearly because you press your tongue against them in specific ways to form different sounds. When there are holes in your smile, you can develop a lisp or other issues with your speech patterns.

Dentures act as artificial teeth to allow you to communicate more clearly with others. However, it might take about a month for your tongue and supporting muscles in your mouth to learn to accommodate your restoration. If you’re struggling with this transition, practicing certain words can help you adjust more quickly.

Improves Nutrition

You rely on your teeth to help you grind your food into bits small enough to be easily swallowed and digested. When some are absent, you might have a hard time biting into or thoroughly chewing many healthy ingredients like raw fruits and veggies and certain cuts of meat. It’s not uncommon to have gastrointestinal problems or become malnourished as a result.

Fortunately, your prosthetics restore a great deal of your chewing power so you can eat a wholesome diet that supports all your body’s needs.

Preserves Oral Health

Any natural teeth remaining in your mouth are prone to becoming misaligned because they tend to shift out of place to fill in any spaces left behind by ones that fell out. This can wear down your enamel unevenly or prematurely, leaving you at a greater risk of cavities or gum disease.

Wearing dentures ensures that they remain in their rightful places to protect your dental well-being.

Expands Opportunities

Your smile is one of the first things people notice about you, and if it’s not whole, you might not be remembered for the right reasons. It might send the wrong message, like that you don’t know how to care for yourself or aren’t willing to. In fact, according to a 2019 study, the probability of being employed is negatively associated with poor dental health.

Upgrading your grin with dentures can lead to more rewarding job opportunities and deeper and more meaningful relationships.

What are Dentures Made Of?

Every denture (regardless of type) has two crucial parts: a base and artificial teeth. These components form most (if not all) of the prosthetic, so consider their features and roles below:

• Denture Base – The base is a core structure that supports a denture’s teeth. Given that fact, it’s usually made of durable acrylic, nylon, porcelain, or metal.  Acrylic is the most common of these base materials, though the others (especially nylon) can be good substitutes.
• Artificial Teeth – Per the name, a denture’s artificial teeth are its tooth-replacing portions. Dental labs make them from resin or porcelain that matches your smile’s overall color.

The Denture Creation Process

Any given denture is custom-made for its patient, so making one involves a multi-step process. The relevant steps are as follows:

• Step 1: Our dentists will first take a dental impression, which helps us design a plaster model that matches your denture’s size and shape.
• Step 2: We’ll send the plaster model to a dental lab that uses it to make a wax gumline.
• Step 3: When the wax gumline is ready, lab workers will set artificial teeth in it. They’ll then have made a prototype denture for the final one.
• Step 4: We’ll receive the prototype denture from the lab and see if it fits your mouth. From there, we’ll send it back.
• Step 5: After boiling it to remove wax, a worker will place the prototype in a flask. The flask itself will receive plaster and sit in hot water.
• Step 6: A separator will go into the plaster layer and keep the acrylic from sticking. Next, this acrylic will be injected into the flask to replace the wax.
• Step 7: The dental lab will remove all plaster to reveal the final denture. Then, they’ll place the restoration in a bath to remove its residue.
• Step 8: For safety and cleanliness, workers will remove the denture’s excess acrylic and polish its surface.
• Step 9: Our office will fit your final denture, ensuring it works smoothly and easily.

Adjusting to Your New Dentures

As you start wearing dentures, your mouth may feel a bit sore. That’s to be expected – you’ll need some time to adjust to your new teeth. Once you’ve had them for a few weeks, they should feel familiar and won’t cause issues.

All that said, speeding up the adjustment is possible. One approach would be to exercise your facial muscles; you’d strengthen them to handle dentures. Similarly, you could eat soft foods to avoid pain or use adhesives to enhance security. Such habits would help the dentures feel natural in less time.

If your initial denture pain persists, you should call our office. There’s a good chance your new restorations need a few more alterations.

Factors that Affect the Cost of Dentures

There are three major factors that affect the cost of dentures:

• Acrylic Base: The type of acrylic the base of your prosthetic is made from and the model you choose both influence the overall cost. Some are made of pure acrylic, others have metal attachments, and some are more detailed and lifelike than others.
• False Teeth: Likewise, the teeth that are molded into the base can be made of different materials. Porcelain is becoming more popular due to its natural appearance and its durability.
• Preparatory Treatments: If you need other procedures before you can get fitted with dentures such as extractions or gum disease treatment, they can also factor into the total cost.

It’s important to note that less expensive options aren’t always the “cheapest” in the end. Inferior quality materials may become worn or damaged more easily, and you could end up spending more to replace them.

Are Implant Dentures More Expensive?

Implant dentures most always come with a greater up-front cost when compared with traditional prosthetics. However, they offer far greater benefits and can be a more cost-effective option depending on your circumstances.

Implanted dentures are secured via four to six dental implants that are surgically placed into your jawbone. These titanium fixtures serve as an anchor for the customized prosthetic that’s placed over them. While there are removable implant dentures, the more popular choice is to have them permanently affixed.

Implanted dentures are less bulky and don’t slip at all while eating or speaking. They’re also easier to care for than regular dentures and can last for decades with proper oral hygiene and a considerate diet.

Does Dental Insurance Cover Dentures?

While dentures are generally covered under “major procedures” in many dental insurance plans, it can vary by provider. If you’re considering dentures as your preferred tooth replacement option, we’ll help you sort out all the details of your insurance coverage before your treatment starts. Our staff is highly knowledgeable when it comes to the ins and outs of different insurance plans, so they won’t have any difficulty in making claims or finding answers for you.

Other Options for Making Dentures Affordable

At Family Dental Associates of Spring Hill, we believe that no patient should be excluded from treatment because they don’t have insurance or can’t afford it right away. This is why our office proudly offers financing through CareCredit, a service that allows qualifying patients to finance their procedures via a CareCredit card and pay it off a little at a time with low to no interest.

Dentures are more than prosthetics, they’re a lifeline for patients suffering from tooth loss. If you’re wondering whether this option is right for you, call us today to schedule a consultation with Dr. Allen or Dr. Jewell. They’ll assess your oral health and help you navigate the process from start to finish!