Dentures – Wilmington, IL

Effects of Missing Teeth

Tooth loss can occur for many reasons, but some of the most common include advanced gum disease, severe tooth decay, and facial trauma. Without timely treatment, the lack of jawbone stimulation that is normally provided by natural tooth roots can lead to facial sagging, difficulty eating and speaking, and lower self-esteem.

No longer being happy with one’s smile can result in a mental and emotional decline that can negatively impact a person’s professional responsibilities and personal relationships. Also, the inability to eat nutritious foods can cause malnutrition and poor digestion.

What Qualifies You for Dentures?

Patients who have experienced significant tooth loss will find that dentures are an ideal solution. Those with sensitive teeth and severe tooth decay can also benefit from these custom prosthetics. As long as the individual has healthy gums and a dense jawbone for maximum support, dentures can be the right choice.

Those who choose to replace their missing teeth with dentures must commit to taking proper care of their oral health, though.

During a consultation, our team will determine which type of denture is best, as we offer full and partial dentures as well as those held in place by dental implants.

Alternative Tooth-Replacement Options

If for some reason our team determines that a patient is not a good candidate for dentures, there are alternative options one can consider:

• Dental Bridges – Dental bridges can be the right choice if a person is only missing a few teeth. They must be consecutive within a row and require healthy adjacent teeth on either side of the gap for sufficient support.   
• Dental Implants – Implant dentures can also be a viable option if a person prefers a more permanent and durable tooth replacement. Unlike their counterparts, these prosthetics rely on titanium implant posts that are surgically placed into the jawbone and support a customized denture that is secured on top.

What Are Dentures Made Of?

Dentures consist of two parts – the base and the artificial teeth.

• The Base – Commonly made of acrylic, the base of a denture supports the artificial teeth that are attached on top. It’s usually gum-colored so that it will match your existing soft oral tissues.
• Artificial Teeth – While some artificial teeth are made from resin, others are crafted out of porcelain. No matter which type you receive, you can expect them to look just like regular ones so that your smile appears natural.

The Denture Creation Process

There are several steps that are required to create a custom denture. From the initial impressions taken by our dental team as well as the wax mold that is sent to the lab, technicians will begin to craft your new teeth using the most advanced techniques and solutions.

They will attach your artificial teeth to the wax model before sending it back to our team to perform a proper fitting. If approved, they’ll be returned to the lab so that the technicians can begin to transform the wax model into the final, acrylic prosthetic. This includes boiling the dentures to eliminate any wax and pouring plaster into a flask that holds the dentures, creating a solid shape.

A liquid separator is then added to the plaster so that the acrylic does not stick once it is injected into the flask. Any plaster is then removed, and the acrylic dentures are placed in an ultrasonic bath. Once the excess acrylic is cut from the denture, it is given a final polish.

Adjusting to Your New Dentures

While it’s likely that you’ll feel some general discomfort after receiving your new dentures, this will improve over time. There will be some soreness, and you may have difficulty eating or speaking; however, you will find that your mouth adjusts quickly, and it will soon feel like normal.

There are ways to speed up the adjustment phase, though. You can practice speaking harder words more slowly until it is easier to make certain sounds. You can also eat soft foods initially so that your mouth becomes accustomed to eating with your new teeth.

Psychological Benefits

The immediate effects of tooth loss tend to focus more on how living without teeth affects you psychologically. The inability to see a full set of teeth can take its toll on you mentally and emotionally. However, the opposite is also true. By taking the step to rebuild your smile with custom dentures, you can improve your psychological mindset so that you not only feel more confident in the way you look, but it exudes in other ways as well. Instead of feeling depressed or sad, you’ll begin to feel happy and excited about the future.

Clear Enunciation

Being able to speak clearly, whether it’s to your grandchildren or your colleagues, is important. Slurring your words because you lack an entire row of teeth can be embarrassing, resulting in missed opportunities and uneventful conversations.

With dentures, though, you can resume speaking as normal but with clearer enunciation. Being able to form certain words and sounds that were once difficult and impossible can help increase your confidence. This can have a positive impact on many areas of your life.

Improves Nutrition

Tooth loss is known to have a direct effect on a person’s diet. Food options become more limited without a full set of teeth, as chewing and biting can be increasingly difficult. This problem can even lead to malnutrition. Yet, with dentures, you can resume eating many of your favorite foods. Although softer options will be necessary in the beginning (to get used to chewing with both sides of your mouth), you can begin to incorporate denser foods, although some you may need to cut up into smaller pieces.

Your decision to wear dentures will positively impact your oral and overall health.

Preserves Oral Health

If you still have natural teeth along one or both arches, there’s a chance that they can begin to shift out of alignment if you have missing teeth. This can create more orthodontic problems in the future if you don’t have dentures or another form of tooth replacement to fill in the gaps. It’s also possible that missing teeth can lead to an uneven bite, resulting in increased wear and tear on your tooth enamel, which can lead to gum recession, dental decay, damage, etc.

Dentures can prevent all of this by filling in the gaps and keeping natural teeth in their proper place. As a result, you won’t need to worry about misalignment or an uneven bite.

Expands Opportunity

Research shows that a smile is the first thing people notice. It also shares that your pearly whites can have a significant impact on whether you are hired for a job or extended a promotion at work. If you want to make sure that you leave nothing in your way while trying to advance professionally, make sure to replace your missing teeth with dentures.

By entering an interview with a healthy-looking set of teeth, your employer will display a more positive attitude, which can help when determining whether you’re a good candidate for the position.