Dentures: An Easy Alternative

First of all, dentures are a type of prosthetic that has been around for a long time. You probably had grandparents, even parents that had them when you were a child or young adult. Often in the past, people had to have all their teeth pulled due to malnutrition. Nowadays, people are choosing to have teeth pulled out of convenience or exhaustion from having had to deal with painful teeth for too many years.

Prosthetic teeth are an immediate alternative when you are forced to have your teeth removed for medical reasons, like genetics or malnutrition. The jaw and gum line can take several months to heal after your teeth are removed. To have a set of teeth to use during this process of healing is necessary. Eventually, you may qualify for more permanent dental implants, though you won’t be able to get them until after you have healed.

Dentures are a cheaper alternative to dental implants. If you qualify for dental implants, be prepared. They are a quality way of replacing a tooth that has decayed. However, the implants are not always affordable. If you only had one or two teeth that your dentist is recommending you get implants for, then you should consider it. This is usually your best bet for replacing only a couple of missing teeth.

There are partial dental prosthetics as well. Occasionally a patient will only have periodontal disease or tooth decay in a few of his or her teeth and not in all upper and lower teeth. Or, perhaps, you had teeth knocked out during an accident. For these reasons, you may qualify for partial dentures. Talk to your dentist if you would like to find out more about partials.

If you are thinking that you can live with your missing teeth, you may want to think again. Teeth are not just necessary for chewing and digesting food. They affect the structure of your lips, face and jaw. Living without teeth can also make it extremely difficult to speak clearly. Teeth are a necessary part of forming words.

There are only a few problems associated with dental prosthetics. Depending on whether you have upper or lower or both, you can anticipate having difficulty the first few days of wear. It can take the body a little bit of time to adjust to having a foreign object in the mouth. You may experience extra saliva, gagging or soreness of gums for a few days after being fitted. If you are concerned about any of these side effects, speak with your dentist.

Dentures are nothing to be afraid of. In fact, they are often a welcome alternative to years of dealing with painful teeth and swollen gums. So, if your dentist suggests that you may need to have some teeth pulled, you can reply by giving him or her a smile.