From the windup variety that chomp, chomp, chomp across a table, to the kind that surprisingly come out in a Bugs Bunny cartoon, dentures have long been fodder for jokes. But when a person is missing either all or most of his or her teeth dentures can change their life.
It’s easy to assume most people have most or all of their teeth. But the Centers for Disease Control would argue with that. The CDC has statistics showing that one quarter of all Americans over the age of 65 have lost all of their teeth.
This kind of tooth loss can affect a person in many ways. Of course, it’s difficult to eat a proper diet if chewing is next to impossible. Speaking is difficult. And it’s embarrassing, making a person avoid smiling or opening their mouth if possible. Plus, when a person is missing all of their teeth, the jawbone begins to erode, and the body resorbs the bone matter. This leads to the eventual inward collapse of the lower face.
Dentures from the team at Gentle Dental can return quality of life to the patient.
Dentures can change a person’s life
Your Gentle Dental dentist can design and fit a set of partial or full dentures for you. Here are the benefits of having dentures:
- Restored ability to bite and chew a wide variety of foods. Think of all the fruits and vegetables you can enjoy again!
- A more youthful appearance. With dentures, your teeth, gums, and jawbone are restored to their original dimensions. And your facial structure doesn’t collapse.
- Better self-image. No longer will you avoid smiling or opening your mouth.
- Clearer speech. You don’t realize the part your teeth play in speech, but it is dramatic.
Types of dentures
At Gentle Dental we provide our patients from Edison and the surrounding areas with either full or partial dentures, depending on their unique situation. Full dentures replace an entire set of missing teeth, upper, lower, or both. Partial dentures are usually used to fill a gap of three or more teeth where a bridge won’t provide enough support. Materials range from acrylic to flexible resin.
Also, to add stability, dentures can be anchored by dental implants. These are known as implant-supported dentures. We have extensive experience placing dental implants and are big fans of using implants to stabilize dentures. For full sets of dentures, we usually place four implants per jaw to anchor the dentures.
Here are the advantages of implant-supported dentures:
- The implants hold the dentures in place, no irritation or rubbing.
- No slipping when talking or eating.
- Food can’t get under the dentures.
- The implants direct bite force energy down into the jawbone below, slowing the rate of bone resorption that happens due to missing teeth.
- Implants provide the best stability for lower jaw dentures.
If you’ve lost all or most of your teeth, there’s no need to suffer through a soft diet. Get back to eating what you want and get back to smiling! Call us at Gentle Dental, (732) 549-5660, and set up a consultation to see how dentures can help you.
