Dentures – Michigan City, IN
An Effective Way to Restore Missing Pearly Whites
If you’re struggling with gaps in your smile, you aren’t the only one. Roughly 120 million Americans are also missing teeth, which can make it difficult to eat comfortably or smile confidently. Fortunately, our team at Edgewood Dental can fully restore your pearly whites with dentures in Michigan City. With the advancements in dentistry, you’ll be able to enjoy custom-fitted and natural-looking replacement teeth that can last much longer than those in the past. Read on or give us a call if you’d like to know more about dentures today!
Who's a Good Candidate for Dentures?
One thing to keep in mind about dentures is that they can be used in a variety of situations. As such, whether you’re only missing a few teeth or have lost an entire arch, dentures could potentially be a good choice for helping you re-complete your smile. But in order to truly confirm that dentures are the best option in your case, you will need to reach out to our team to schedule a consultation. In the meantime, though, here are a few things to keep in mind while considering your potential candidacy for dentures.
Effects of Missing Teeth
It’s always helpful to remind yourself why you might need to get dentures in the first place. Missing any number of teeth can lead to all kinds of issues. Not only are you likely to have trouble eating your favorite foods, but you may find it difficult to speak clearly. On top of that, losing multiple teeth can leave a lot of highly visible empty space in your smile, which can take a significant toll on your confidence.
No matter what reason you lost your teeth – be it an injury, gum disease, or advanced tooth decay – the consequences of an incomplete smile will be the same. The sooner you get dentures to fill in the empty space, the sooner you’ll notice an improvement in your everyday life and your overall well-being.
What Qualifies You for Dentures?
Have you already lost multiple teeth or all of your teeth? Or are you suffering from severe decay throughout your mouth that will require multiple tooth extractions? In either situation, it may be worth considering getting dentures in order to restore your smile.
Bear in mind that before you can receive dentures, you will need to have a sufficient amount of bone in your jaw. The health of your gums also matters. Our team can examine your mouth thoroughly to determine whether you will be able to get dentures.
Of course, we will also need to take the time to determine what kind of denture you should get. The number of teeth that need to be replaced will help determine whether you require a partial denture or a full denture. On top of that, if you qualify for dental implant surgery, it may be worth pursuing sturdy, long-lasting implant dentures. Rest assured that we will walk you through your options and help you make an informed decision.
Alternative Tooth-Replacement Options
There’s more than one way to replace missing teeth. If we discover that dentures aren’t a good fit for you, we may suggest one of the alternatives:
- Dental Bridges: Creating a dental bridge involves suspending one or more artificial teeth called pontics between a pair of crowns. The crowns can be attached to your natural teeth so that the pontics can fill in the empty space in your smile.
- Dental Implants: Dental implants can be inserted into your jaw to replace any number of teeth. Note that if you choose to get dental implants, we will refer you to a local oral surgeon who can place the implant posts in your jaw.
Types of Dentures
There are several kinds of denture options to consider. Here’s what you can expect from each when restoring your smile:
Partial Dentures
This treatment can replace several missing teeth simultaneously. Partial dentures are especially beneficial for patients who are struggling with moderate tooth loss and still have other remaining pearly whites. These restorations use a gum-colored base to support the new teeth, keeping them firmly in place with a subtle metal framework.
Full Dentures
If you’re missing entire rows of teeth, then full dentures are an effective and popular solution. These custom-made prosthetics are designed to fit your exact smile specifications through natural suction, denture adhesive, or both. Not only do they look and feel like natural pearly whites, but they can easily last several years with proper maintenance.
Implant Dentures
Unlike traditional ones, these restorations are directly anchored to your jawbone via dental implants. With these titanium posts serving as your new permanent roots, you’ll be able to enjoy extremely stable and natural-like dentures. They’ll also help preserve your jawbone, prevent further tooth loss, and can typically last 20 years or more.
The Benefits of Dentures
With various options available for dentures, you can be sure to enjoy multiple advantages of restoring your missing teeth. Our team wants to ensure that you can enjoy things like eating and speaking comfortably and confidently again. That’s why we’re proud to offer custom and lifelike prosthetics that do much more than replace lost pearly whites. Read on to learn about some of the common benefits of dentures.
Psychological Benefits
Missing some or all of your teeth can take a toll on your oral health as well as your mental well-being. You might end up feeling less willing to engage in social activities or events as you won’t want to show your smile. This can even make you more likely to experience sorrow and lower self-esteem. However, by wearing dentures, you can regain both your bite as well as your confidence, as you’ll feel much more comfortable and confident about your grin.
Clearer Enunciation
Speaking clearly can become quite difficult when missing some or all of your teeth. For the most part, people place their lips and tongues against their teeth in certain ways to enunciate sounds and words. With dentures, you can easily regain your ability to speak effectively while also enjoying a full smile again.
Improves Nutrition
Some of your favorite foods can be tougher in texture, including things like fruits, vegetables, and lean meats. Without the majority of your teeth, you might experience difficulties chewing your meals properly, which can lead to problems like indigestion and malnutrition. Dentures can restore the majority of your natural chewing power, allowing you to widen your dietary options so that you can enjoy more foods while also receiving essential nutrients for promoting better oral and overall health.
Preserves Oral Health
Any remaining teeth after tooth loss can end up at risk of shifting out of place to fill the gaps in your smile. Dentures can serve as a placeholder for your other pearly whites while also renewing your bite. Additionally, your prosthetics will help bear the weight of daily chewing, preventing excessive wear and tear of your other natural teeth.
Expands Opportunities
First impressions are everything in social interactions, and your smile is one of the very things people will initially notice about you. By opting for dentures, you can conveniently restore your missing teeth so that you can feel free to show off your confident grin. In turn, others may perceive you as more outgoing and attractive, which can easily expand your opportunities in both your social and professional settings.
Denture FAQs
If you’re thinking about getting dentures, you’re probably already having to deal with the challenges that come with missing teeth. The sooner you can restore your smile with dentures, the better your quality of life will be. If you have a few questions that you want answered before you get dentures, first check the FAQs below to see if you can find the answers you’re looking for; then reach out to our practice to ask anything else that might be on your mind.
Should I Have All My Teeth Pulled to Get Dentures?
We don’t normally recommend having teeth removed if there are still treatments available that could help save them. That being said, if all or most of your teeth are badly decayed, or if they have come loose due to gum disease, there may not be any other choice but to extract them and replace them with dentures.
Keep in mind that there is no upper limit to the number of teeth that can be removed during a single appointment. However, some teeth might be more difficult to extract depending on the circumstances. We can go into more detail about what the extraction process will look like at your initial consultation.
Will Dentures Change the Shape of My Face?
As a matter of fact, dentures can actually improve your facial shape after tooth loss. Under normal circumstances, your natural teeth help support the muscles in your lips and your cheeks. So if teeth are missing, these muscles will start to collapse, which has the effect of making you look older than you are. But if you wear dentures, you can ensure that your lip and cheek muscles remain properly supported.
Be sure to pay attention to any signs that your dentures might no longer fit properly. False teeth that don’t fit won’t provide the best support for the rest of your face. Give us a call if you believe your dentures might need to be refitted or replaced.
Can I Still Eat Steak with Dentures?
Many denture wearers find eating steak and other tough meats challenging. Fortunately, you can still enjoy this type of food if you make the right preparations:
- Choose cuts of beef that are easier to chew, such as tenderloin.
- When cooking steak, take the time to thoroughly tenderize it first.
- Be mindful of how large each bite is. It’s best to cut your steak into pieces that are as small as possible.
- People who just got their dentures often use adhesive to keep them in place to help with chewing steak and similarly tough foods.
What is the Average Age for Dentures?
The odds of losing teeth tend to increase as you get older. About 57% of people between ages 65 and 74 wear dentures; meanwhile, only about 33% of people between the ages of 20 and 39 have any number of missing teeth to begin with.
However, it’s important to remember that there is no such thing as “too young for dentures.” You can be a potential candidate for this type of restoration regardless of age; what matters is whether you have any teeth that need to be replaced.