Partial Dentures

Missing teeth can ruin your smile, make oral hygiene a nightmare, change the positioning of your remaining teeth, give you speech difficulty, and reduce your ability to chew food properly.ﾠ An important procedure to help correct missing teeth is the partial denture.ﾠ Partial dentures are like full dentures, except they are only designed to address local gaps in your teeth.

A partial denture corrects all of the above problems with a removable prosthetic that replicates the look and function of real teeth.ﾠ Most dentures these days are constructed with a composite resin that is durable and life-like.ﾠ Like full dentures, a partial denture's fit is far more important than its look.

Partial dentures are usually smaller versions of full dentures.ﾠ They consist of a prosthetic tooth with a gum-colored base.ﾠ Metal is usually used to hold the entire assembly together.

Most patients feel discomfort for the first few weeks after receiving a partial denture.ﾠ This feeling will go away as you adjust to the idea of a foreign object in your mouth.ﾠ A denture should slip into place easily otherwise there could be a fitting problem.ﾠ You should never use biting force to place a partial denture into position.

Dentists recommend that patients keep their dentures in 24 hours a day during the adjustment period.ﾠ This helps to identify any fitting problems, as areas with extra pressure will quickly get sore.ﾠ Once you have a denture that fits comfortably, you should keep the dentures on only during the day.ﾠ When you sleep it should be off, in order to allow the gums time to breathe properly.ﾠ During this time the denture should be soaked in water or an appropriate soaking solution (some metal parts may begin to rust otherwise).

You should brush a partial denture as often as you'd brush normal teeth.ﾠ Use a regular or soft toothbrush in conjunction with a good denture cleaner.ﾠ Toothpaste is good but not the best since dentures have different cleaning requirements.ﾠ Never use any abrasive toothpastes or hard toothbrushes as this could scratch and damage your partial dentures.

A regular checkup schedule with your dentist is essential to the function of your dentures.ﾠ He or she will be able to identify if your gums or jawbones have changed, thus necessitating a new fit for your partials.

As with regular teeth, by taking care to follow a healthy oral hygiene schedule you should be able to avoid most problems in your mouth.ﾠ Consult your dentist today about partial dentures to fix missing teeth and restore your smile back to normal.