Patients who turn to treatment solutions that include dentures are skeptical from the start.
For most, dentures are that piece of work that you remove at the end of the day or that can come off at unwanted moments. But in reality, this is not the case.
The vast majority of dentures are bonded to the remaining teeth and do not come loose.
Of course, there are also full or skeleton dentures, which have to be removed at the end of the day for cleaning. But they are applied to the arch in the following situations:
Skeletal dentures are applied when there is extensive edentulousness, i.e. the patient has only a few teeth left on the arches.
Usually, when the back teeth are missing, the skeletal prosthesis will be added to the front teeth and will help the patient to perform the functions of speech and especially mastication at near maximum potential.
The skeletal denture is a partial denture with replacement teeth attached to a pink plastic base, connected to a metal frame that holds the denture in place in the mouth.
The partial denture not only fills edentulous spaces but helps the remaining teeth stay in place. A partial denture is removable and looks natural.
A full denture is applied when there are no dental units left. They consist of an acrylic portion, which will fit over the ridges remaining after extractions, over which the teeth are fitted.
Full, total or complete dentures can be of two types, conventional or immediate.
Conventional dentures are made after all tooth extractions have been performed, after the soft tissues have healed. Approximately two weeks after the extractions have been completed, the patient can already go to the prosthodontist, who will design the treatment plan.
In the case of conventional dentures, they may be ready to be placed in the mouth about 8-12 weeks after the extractions have been completed.
On the other hand, immediate dentures are made earlier and can be placed in the oral cavity as soon as the teeth have been removed.
Thus, the patient will not be without teeth during the healing period. However, the bones and gums may change over time, especially during the healing period.
Thus, one of the disadvantages of conventional dentures is that they require more modifications over time.
While for conventional dentures the tissue changes occurred during the healing period when they are not applied, for immediate dentures the tissue changes occur under the direct action of the dentures.
Therefore, at the end of the healing process we can see that immediate prostheses no longer correspond to the local situation.
Immediate prostheses can therefore be considered more of a temporary solution until the conventional ones are completed.
Dentures are durable treatment solutions, especially if the patient takes care of their teeth with a sense of responsibility.
Dental check-ups should not be omitted either, as they should detect early on any irregularities that could affect the durability of the prosthetic work in the future.
