Palo Alto, CA Upper Denture Implants Near You

Affordable Dentures Care for Your Denture Repairs

Dentures make life easier every day. While you may miss your natural teeth, dentures make it possible for you to eat well, improve your appearance, fill gaps where natural teeth are missing and support your facial muscles so you maintain your appearance. Dentures require special care, however, and so does the rest of your mouth. Daily cleaning and regular dental visits are just as important now that you are a denture wearer as they were before you got your dentures.

Regular Denture Cleaning

Each day before you put your dentures in, use a brush with soft bristles to brush your remaining natural teeth, as well as your gums and your tongue. This will remove plaque that builds up overnight that can lead to gum disease. Pay special attention to any teeth that fit underneath the denture's metal clasp, because bacteria trapped between the metal and your tooth can cause tooth decay.

Your dentures also need to be cleaned on a daily basis, after meals, and when you remove them for the night. Cleaning them will remove food particles and plaque, prevent them from becoming stained, and keep them tasting and smelling fresh when you put them in your mouth.

Your dentist will tell you the best kind of brushes and toothpaste or cleaning solutions to keep your dentures clean. Hand soap and mild dishwashing liquid are acceptable for use. Don't use toothpastes that contain abrasive cleaners because they may scratch and weaken the denture.

To clean your denture, rinse off all food particles. Moisten your brush and apply the dental cleaner; gently brush the entire denture, but make sure to hold it securely so the brushing doesn't bend the attachments or damage the surface.

Keeping Dentures in Good Repair

Dentures are durable enough to stand up to chewing and biting, but fragile when they are out of your mouth. Dropping them or throwing them down on a sink or counter can break a tooth or part of the denture base.

When your denture teeth are front teeth, avoid biting down directly on crunchy or hard foods, like hard pretzels, crusty bread, or even oversized sandwiches. They can all cause a denture to break because of the angle where your denture tooth meets the hard surface. Be careful when biting into whole apples with your dentures as well; cut them into wedges instead.

If your denture cracks or breaks, or if your denture tooth is chipped or loose, call the dentist immediately. Dentures can usually be repaired quickly, even the same day, but do not continue to use a damaged denture without letting your dentist see it.

Dentures Overnight

Take your dentures out at night and place them in a container of water or a solution designed to clean dentures while they soak. Dentures that dry out can become brittle and may also change shape.

Ask your dentist for a container that will conceal your dentures while they soak, so your dentures won't sit out in plain view, but make sure that the container is labeled or placed in a safe place, especially if you are visiting someone or have visitors at your home. Never place a denture in boiling water or the microwave oven.

If your denture has metal clasps, ask your dentist whether soaking will tarnish them. If so, your dentist will recommend an alternative method of overnight storage.

Affordable Dentures Check-Ups

Seeing your dentist regularly is still important. Your mouth is always changing, and the dentist will check to make sure your dentures continue to fit properly and will examine them for any sign of damage.

In addition, the dentist will examine your mouth, gums, tongue, and jaw joints for any signs of problems. Some diseases, like diabetes, will actually show symptoms in mouth tissue; your oral health reflects the rest of your health and your dentist is an important member of your health care team.

Dentures and Durability

While dentures are durable, they won't last forever. With many years of use, dentures may lose their natural appearance and become worn, and will not function as well as they did when they were new.

Stains will likely occur over time, and even the fit may become loose or uncomfortable as your mouth changes. Your dentist will be able to advise you on whether changes to your dentures are cosmetic or have an impact on your oral health and hygiene.

by Brian J. Gray, D.D.S., M.A.G.D., F.I.C.O.

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.

What To Do With The Broken Denture - Denture Repair

Even though dentures are fabricated from extremely durable materials, they will break, wear out, a tooth will come out, or their fit will change. Then its time for denture repair.

Accidents happen, dogs still like to chew on plates of the dental kind, and trash compacters have never taken kindly to dentures. In fact, it is frequently not a matter of "if," but rather a matter of "when" a denture will become broken, lost, or damaged beyond repair.

One can be assured that a problem will happen when least expected, and immediate, usually important, plans definitely will be altered unless a person is prepared.

Damaged Denture - How to Expect the Unexpected and Be Prepared

A short-term use duplicate denture will bridge the gap while a regular denture is being repaired, renovated, or replaced. Sometimes this type of denture is referred to as an "embarrassment denture" because it helps a person avoid the embarrassment of being without teeth in an emergency or during planned denture maintenance.

While this type of denture may be made at any time from an existing functional denture, it generally is fabricated immediately after a new denture is made. The embarrassment denture is neither as accurate nor as esthetic and durable as the original, but it is adequate and only meant for short-term use. The cost is generally considerably less than the original denture.

Such an interim prosthesis may be relined annually and adjusted in advance to fit the current changing shape of an individual's jaws, and therefore be ready to use at a moment's notice.

However, some individuals choose to have their embarrassment denture relined and adjusted only when they need the short-term denture. Following this latter course means that they will have to wait to wear their interim denture until an appointment can be scheduled with a dentist to complete the reline and any adjustments. But a reline for an embarrassment denture can be done in the dentist's office during a single appointment so a patient may leave with it refitted in the mouth.

In either case, a person would not be without a prosthesis while their regular denture is being worked on.

The Embarrassment Denture Facilitates Planned Periodic Maintenance

All dentures need to be periodically relined to accommodate the constant change in shape of a person's jaws. There are also times when the plastic body of a denture needs to be changed due to deterioration, or the entire denture replaced because of wear or poor fit from changing mouth conditions that can no longer be remedied by relining.

While relines can be completed in one appointment office visit, more durable relines may require that a dentist keep a denture for several days. Replacing the plastic body of a denture (called a rebase) takes several days and making a replacement denture takes several weeks.

It becomes easy to see how an embarrassment denture would solve being without one's regular denture for a period of time, even for planned maintenance, while getting on with one's life.

by Joseph J. Massad, D.D.S.

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.