Dentures Spring

Types of Dentures

We craft all our dentures out of reliable, natural-looking materials, like dental porcelain and gum-colored acrylic, to ensure your new smile looks as good as new! Depending on the extent of your tooth loss, you may benefit from:

Partials

Partial dentures (sometimes simply called partials) are a good choice for patients missing several teeth. This type of denture is designed to fit around and between the remaining healthy teeth, similar to a puzzle piece. Small, discrete wires wrap around the natural tooth structure for seamless results.

Full Dentures

A full denture can replace an entire arch of missing teeth with one beautiful restoration. These replacement teeth are set into a gum-colored base that’s been custom-made to fit closely over the gums. This creates a strong, natural suction that secures the denture in place as you talk and eat.

Implant Dentures

Alternatively, you can anchor your denture in place with dental implants. Instead of sitting on the gums or wrapping around the remaining teeth, this type of denture is secured with a few dental implants that are placed directly into the jawbone. While this process typically takes longer, the result is a comfortable, highly functional restoration that can potentially last a lifetime!

Who’s a Good Candidate for Dentures?

Dentures are a good choice for those suffering from moderate to severe tooth loss. To be considered a good candidate for dentures, you’ll need to have a healthy mouth. Once we’ve addressed any issues such as tooth decay, gum disease, or unhealthy teeth that need to be extracted, we can move on to fitting you with dentures. If you’re interested in implant dentures, you’ll also need to be in good overall health and have adequate jawbone density.

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Effects of Missing Teeth

Living with an incomplete smile will not only cause you to feel self-conscious about your appearance but also make it harder to eat certain foods and speak clearly. These changes to your daily life will eventually take a toll on your mental and emotional well-being, too. This is why it’s important that you seek professional help to have your missing teeth replaced.

With custom-made dentures designed specifically for your smile, you can walk away feeling more confident than ever before.

What Qualifies You for Dentures?

To qualify for dentures, you need to have at least one or more missing teeth. You also need to be in good general overall health. If we suspect you have existing gum disease or tooth decay, we may need to administer gum disease treatment or perform tooth extraction. While we ideally want you to keep your natural teeth for as long as possible, it can be in your best interest that we remove multiple teeth, especially if they are at risk of falling out.

We will also need to make sure you have enough jawbone density to support your dentures, especially full, traditional ones that only rest on top of the gumline.

Alternative Tooth-Replacement Options

If for some reason dentures are not the ideal treatment option for your missing teeth, there are alternatives you can choose from, such as:

• Dental Bridges – As custom-made prosthetics that attach to healthy tooth structures, these are designed using two dental crowns and free-standing pontics (artificial teeth) and can last up to a decade with the right type of care.
• Dental Implants – Dental implants are unlike dental bridges and dentures in that they require titanium implant posts to screw into the jawbone for maximum support. Once in place and fused with the jawbone, they can easily hold up an implant bridge or denture depending on how many teeth you are missing.

How Dentures Are Made

Dentures are customized for each specific patient’s tooth loss, meaning that the restorations we provide here at Spring Dentist are crafted with your smile in mind! That said, you probably have some questions about what goes into making dentures and what the process looks like—plus, understanding just how your new smile is made will only make you appreciate it more. Continue reading below to learn a little more about how we can create beautiful, functional, and durable dentures for all degrees of tooth loss.  

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What Are Dentures Made Of?

Dentures normally have two main components:

• Denture Base – This is the foundation that supports your replacement teeth, and it can be made from a variety of different materials, with acrylic being a common choice for full dentures since it can be color-matched to the gums. Partial dentures often incorporate metal or nylon clips to help secure them.
• Replacement Teeth – The replacement teeth are attached to the denture base and are made from lifelike, resilient materials. Porcelain and composite resin are two common choices due to their natural look and feel.

The Denture Creation Process

The process of creating dentures begins with our team taking impressions of your upper and lower gums to create a model of your mouth, which will be used to design your permanent replacement teeth. This model is sent to a dental lab where technicians use it to carefully create a wax replica of your gumline, which is then placed under a special device called an articulator that attaches the teeth to the wax. Adjustments are made to ensure all the teeth are positioned properly, and the wax dentures are then placed in plaster to hold their shape. Next, the wax portions are melted away and acrylic is used to replace them, before the plaster is carefully removed and the excess acrylic is cut away. Finally, everything is polished and adjusted as needed to ensure perfection, before it’s sent back to our office and ready for you!

Adjusting to Your New Dentures

There’s a chance you’ll feel some slight discomfort once you start wearing your new dentures, but this isn’t permanent by any means—and usually, within about a month or so, most patients have fully mastered wearing their dentures and hardly notice a difference! During your adjustment period, you should still stick to eating softer foods while also regularly exercising your facial muscles. You can do this by practicing speaking with a trusted friend or family member. If you’re still dealing with persistent discomfort or you’re unable to fully adjust to wearing your dentures, don’t hesitate to contact our office for help!

The Benefits of Dentures

Dentures have been a tried-and-true tooth-replacement option for decades, and it’s easy to see why! They offer several notable benefits, including:

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Ability to Eat a Full, Varied Diet

Whether there is a large gap in your smile, you’re missing several teeth throughout your mouth, or you don’t have any of your natural teeth left, it can be difficult to chew nutrient-dense foods like whole apples, nuts, and raw celery. The good news is that dentures can restore some of your bite power, allowing you to enjoy a full, varied diet again!

Enjoy a More Youthful Appearance

With tooth loss comes bone weakening in your jaw. Combined with the “sunken-in” appearance that comes with considerable gaps in your smile, it can leave you looking older. Fortunately, dentures can fill the open spaces in your smile, plumping your cheeks in the process. Plus, the replacement teeth are custom-made to fit, feel, and look extremely natural, so no one will know that they aren’t real.

Cost-Effective

Another perk of dentures is that they are more cost-effective than other tooth-replacement options, like dental implants. They are often covered in part by dental insurance providers as well. So, if you are currently insured, there’s a chance that you won’t have to pay for your restoration entirely out-of-pocket.

Note: We also offer our patients several other financial solutions, including our own membership plan. So, there’s more than one way to make dentures affordable!

Clearer Enunciation

To form words, your tongue moves against the back of your teeth. The different flows of air create words, which is why patients with tooth loss often experience difficulty enunciating clearly. Again, dentures can help in this regard. Since they fill the open spaces in your smile (or all of your teeth, in some cases), they restore your speaking patterns as well as the strength of your bite.

Prevents Dental Drift

Have you heard of dental drift? This is when the teeth surrounding the gap begin to move out of position, negatively impacting the alignment of your bite and the look of your smile. That’s why we recommend exploring your tooth-replacement options before having a tooth extracted (or as soon as possible following tooth loss from gum disease or another oral health problem).

Addresses Moderate to Severe Tooth Loss

While dental bridges can only replace one tooth or several teeth in a row, dentures are a bit more versatile. In fact, they’ve helped patients who are missing anywhere from a few teeth to an entire arch! Simply put, if you’re struggling with moderate to severe tooth loss, there’s a good chance that dentures are an option.

Understanding the Cost of Dentures

After reading through the different types of dentures and their benefits, you may be wondering how much they cost. After all, it’s hard to commit to a treatment without knowing the price. While there isn’t a flat fee, there are a few factors that will help you determine the cost. To learn what they are, read on!

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Factors That Affect the Cost of Dentures

One of the biggest perks of dentures in Spring is that they are completely customized to your dental needs. As a result, your treatment plan will vary depending on a few important factors:

• The need for preliminary treatments, such as tooth extractions and gum disease therapy
• The number of teeth you are missing (this will determine the type of denture you need)
• The materials your dentures are made of

Cheaper isn’t necessarily better, especially when it comes to your smile and bite. Investing in quality dentures will benefit your confidence, oral health, overall well-being, and, in the long run, your wallet. Don’t worry – our denture dentist will review each of your treatment options and answer any questions you have during your initial consultation.

Are Implant Dentures More Expensive?

Since implant dentures require oral surgery, they naturally come with a higher price tag. Before you dismiss this option, however, it’s important to consider the numerous benefits they provide. Unlike traditional dentures, those held in place by implants stimulate your jawbone, preserving your youthful facial shape in the process. Furthermore, implant dentures provide increased biting power and last for 30+ years with proper care.

Does Dental Insurance Cover Dentures?

Although the answer ultimately depends on your dental plan, most patients can expect some coverage from their dental insurance provider. If you are unsure of your benefits, our team would be happy to help! Since we are in-network with several of the nation’s leading providers, we have the knowledge and experience needed to help you maximize your coverage and understand the cost.

Other Options for Making Dentures Affordable

Don’t have dental insurance? That’s okay! With Spring Dentist, there are plenty of other options available to help you save on restoring your smile, including:

• An in-house membership plan – With our in-house plan, you can get access to the preventive care you need AND 15% off additional treatments without the annoying red tape, like annual deductibles and maximums.
• Flexible financing – Want to space out your payments over several months instead of having to pay one lump sum? Thanks to flexible financing, you can!
• Special offers – Our team is proud to offer periodic special offers that help lower your out-of-pocket expenses.