Partial & Cosmetic Dentures
Patients that have too many teeth missing may be candidate for Partial dentures. Partial dentures are now available in two forms. First is the most common type of prosthesis, which used a metal substructure that attaches to the remaining teeth in the mouth for support. Bonded to the metal substructure are acrylic teeth which replace all the missing teeth in the area. Partials dentures are removable and it becomes necessary for patients to remove them from the mouth after meals to clean them. Another type of partials dentures, called Valplast, is a new flexible partial dentures, made from a specially made acrylic, which allows for bending and absorbing, without the use of metals. Most patients find this type of partials much user friendly, because of the ability of this material to flex and adapt to the soft tissues of the oral cavity. It also provides more of a cosmetic advantage than the metal.
“It is important to realize that since the mouth is in a constant stage of change it is important to have dentures checked regularly. Both the gums and bone change with time.”
Patients who have lost all of their teeth are candidates for Dentures, which replace the natural teeth. Dr.Navid Zamani utilizes highly technical cosmetic dentures to replace these natural teeth that are lost. Patients in need of extraction with need of dentures find it comforting to know that in most cases Dr. Zamani performs all of the extractions in the office and can place in new dentures the same day. These so called immediate dentures, are made from impressions previously taken from the patient, which the laboratory uses to fabricate a new set of dentures for the patient. Once made, the patient is given an appointment to return for extractions and insertion of the dentures. There are different steps necessary to make the immediate dentures as comfortable and as stable as possible, and these steps are called Relines, which re-adapt the Denture base to the patient’s mouth. These Reline materials act as cushions on the newly extraction sites to help retain in the dentures and act as a tissue conditioner until the extraction sites start to fully heal.
Cosmetic Dentures Sherman Oaks & Los Angeles
It is important to realize that since the mouth is in a constant stage of change it is important to have dentures checked regularly. Both the gums and bone change with time. It is also important to realize that over time the denture teeth themselves wear down. This is what causes patients to look like their mouths have collapsed. When the denture teeth wear down, the dentures allows the patient to close down too far, placing undue stress on the temporal mandibular joint as well as giving the patient an undesirable appearance. Ill-fitting dentures can also contribute to accelerated wearing down on the patients jawbone. Wearing an ill-fitting denture allows the dentures to rub on the bone in an unnatural way creating this unnecessary bone loss. Therefore, it is important to have the bone, gums, and the dentures checked every one to two years. On an average, denture patients need to have their dentures replaced every 5 to 7years.
Some denture wearers who have trouble wearing their lower dentures may choose to have implants placed to help retain the lower dentures more secure. Usually four implants are placed in the jawbone and allowed to fuse to the bone and heal over time. Once implants have healed for 3-6 months, the dental implants are uncovered and attachments are placed on the top of the implants. These attachments help to secure the newly made dentures to the jawbone, therefore eliminating the problem of loose fitting dentures.