Should You Consider Permanent Dentures?

Also called bridges, permanent dentures are an alternative to removable dentures. If you are missing teeth and looking for a solution, there are a number of reasons you may want to consider permanent dentures. Here's what you need to know.

Benefits of Permanent Dentures

The key benefit of permanent dentures is that they are permanently affixed to your mouth. You don't have to worry about losing them as you do with regular, removable dentures. You also don't have to go through taking them out at night or buying soaking solution.

Drawbacks of Permanent Dentures

That said, permanent dentures aren't right for everyone. To get permanent dentures, you need to have a healthy jaw bone or healthy teeth to support them. Without that in place, you can't opt for this alternative.

Additionally, the process of getting permanent dentures is usually more time consuming than getting traditional dentures. It also tends to be more expensive.

Design of Permanent Dentures

Both permanent and removable dentures are designed so that they match the rest of your teeth and fit with your bite. Dentists and denturists do this in one of two ways. They can take a mould of your mouth, or they can use 3D software to generate an image of your mouth.

Generally, this happens in one appointment. Then, the dentist or denturist sends the information to a lab which makes the dentures, and you return to get the dentures during a follow-up appointment.

How Permanent Dentures Work

With regular dentures, you slip them in and out of your mouth. For partial dentures, there's often a piece of metal that loops around an existing tooth to hold them in place. For full dentures, you usually use a few dots of denture cream to hold them in place.

With permanent dentures, the approach is different. Basically, each end of the permanent dentures has a crown on it. The crown can go on an existing tooth. For that to be possible, the tooth must be strong, and the dentist may need to shave down some of the enamel. Then, the crown slips over the tooth.

Alternatively, the crown can be attached to an implant. An implant is a very small metal post that goes through your gums and into your jaw bone. The bone actually ossifies around the post, locking it into place. Then, the crown goes on top of that post, and the rest of the fake teeth run between the two implants.

If you think permanent or traditional dentures are right for you, contact a dentist today.

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