Restorative Dentistry

The Types of Available Dentures

Dentures have come a long way since the stereotypical, bad-fitting acrylic pieces you may have seen soaking in a glass of water on your grandparents’ night tables. Today’s choices provide better-fitting, more affordable, and permanent options. Whether your tooth loss is due to age, illness, decay or injury, restorative dentistry offers several options to replace missing teeth, such as:

• Flexible dentures provide a virtually unbreakable appliance with a flexible liner and shock absorber between your gums and the acrylic denture material. These are customizable for replacing a few teeth or many teeth.
• Implant dentures, also known as implant-supported overdentures, use implanted posts with attachments for better retention to provide a permanently fixed or removable solution for one or more lost teeth. Although this process initially costs more than a traditional removable denture option, it provides a permanent solution for filling the gaps left by lost teeth with a device that most closely resembles your natural teeth. You have choices, too — for example, between All-on-4 or All-on-6 dental implants.
• Dental bridges anchor an acrylic base with several attached teeth between two healthy teeth or dental implants. If you opt for implants, you need just two posts instead of one per missing tooth. Bridges can replace several teeth at once in a more cost-effective manner, restoring your ability to chew and speak properly. Bridges can be made from porcelain, ceramic or resin supported by metal.
• Conventional dentures are custom-made to fit your gums. These fit onto your gums and hold acrylic or porcelain teeth in place. Conventional dentures are still the least expensive option for full mouth tooth replacement, but you may need to replace them every five to eight years.
• Overdentures fit over a small number of implants or your natural teeth that may have been worn down or broken off. Keeping your natural tooth roots or getting implants supports your jawbone and reduces the chances of bone deterioration, which can lead to more lost teeth and a disfigured appearance.