Everybody talks about implants. I admire implants, and I do implants. But I would like to discuss dentures, because I realized that there is a larger denture population than implant one. I appreciate one of my patients who opened my eyes by telling her denture story.
Complete dentures are called “conventional” or “immediate” according to when they are made and when they are inserted into the mouth. Conventional dentures are made from the stable jaw condition, which is already prepared under previous extraction of all remaining teeth. Or it can be done when you need a second set or third set of dentures to improve your smile, speaking, and chewing.
In the case that you have a serious perio problem and have to lose all of your teeth, and then you can choose immediate denture. If you have a partial denture, including remaining front teeth, and want to convert into complete denture, then you may choose immediate denture. Immediate dentures are inserted immediately after the removal of the remaining teeth. To make this possible, the dentist takes measurements and makes the models of the patient’s jaws during a preliminary visit. Sometimes the dentist recommends one or two more appointments to verify dentures function, such as smile, phonetics, teeth shape and color for a nice fitting of the immediate dentures on the day of insertion.
An advantage of immediate dentures is that the wearer does not have to be without teeth during the healing period. However, bones and gums can shrink over time, especially during the period of healing in the first six months after the removal of teeth. When gums shrink, immediate dentures may require relining to fit properly. Healing may take at least six to eight weeks. During this period, a soft relining material will help in order to give a good tissue healing as well as comfortable feeling of wearing new dentures. After a six-month to one year period of using the immediate dentures accompanied with hard material of relining, remote dentures can then be considered. You may keep immediate dentures if you are satisfied or you may have new conventional dentures to achieve more satisfaction.
Call 661-253-3030 and ask Lounna about new patient specials and any other current promotions. You may reach Dr. Jangsook Kim at 661-253-3030 if you have any questions or suggestions.