Everything You Need to Know About Dentures

Dentures are designed to replace missing teeth in the mouth. When having teeth extracted it can affect your speech and can make it hard to eat certain foods, with dentures you can enjoy a confidence boost, while enjoying false teeth which look completely natural in your mouth.

Dentures can be removed and replaced when sleeping or when cleaning your teeth, ensuring that you can access your gums to reduce the risk of gum disease, according to leading dentist and specialist oral surgeon, Dr Tariq Drabu.

These days’ false teeth are advanced in design, reducing the amount of time it takes to get used to them. They are natural looking and are designed to match the colour of your original teeth, ensuring they blend in seamlessly and aren’t noticeable as dentures and not your own teeth when greeting, smiling and speaking to people.

According to Dr Tariq Drabu, you may be offered full or partial dentures. Partial dentures replace a few missing teeth on the upper or lower jaw. This is common when a person has one or more teeth extracted in the front of their mouth, which hinders their confidence and lowers their self-esteem.

Full dentures are when all the teeth have been removed, on the top or bottom jaw. These replace all the teeth in the mouth. Due to the false teeth being mounted to a plate which sits inside the mouth, they can look completely natural and help boost confidence levels accordingly.

When you are first fitted with dentures, it is completely natural to struggle with your speech or eating for a few weeks. It can take up to a month for your speech to return to normal or before you feel confident enough to eat in public. Over time your tongue and cheeks will adapt, holding the dentures in place. For added peace of mind you can use an adhesive to hold your dentures in place and reduce the risk of them moving when speaking, smiling or eating.

Having dentures means that you need to follow some instructions to ensure good care and dental hygiene moving forward. It is imperative that you handle your new dentures with care, try not to drop them or stand on them, as they are delicate and they can break.

You need to ensure that you brush and rinse your mouth daily. Do not use toothpaste. Brushing can reduce the risk of stains, as your dentures will stain the same as your natural teeth. While you brush twice daily on any natural teeth, take the time to gently brush your dentures and ensure you also gently brush your gums. Rinse the dentures after every meal to remove any debris and then replace them in your mouth.

Dr Tariq Drabu also recommends that patients who are using dentures for the first time should try and sleep with them in for a few weeks, giving their mouth time to adjust. When they feel comfortable they can remove them at night, but they must be kept moist at all times.

When brushing your teeth. Ensure you remove your dentures and brush them separately with the correct denture cleaning solution. Brush your teeth as normal with fluoride toothpaste. Ensure you also focus on your gums, tongue and palate, removing any bacteria and debris before returning your dentures to your mouth.

The final and very important thing to remember when you are wearing dentures is to attend your routine dentalappointments. Dr Tariq Drabu advised that routine appointments is an opportunity for the dentist to ensure the dentures are fitting properly, not aggravating the gums and that there are no signs of gum disease.