Denture Maintenance and Oral Health

Maintaining the denture is closely connected with maintaining the oral health. Just because a denture wearer has no natural teeth does not mean that he/she does not need to take steps to maintain the oral health. The reasons for the denture maintenance are: cosmetic appearance, oral hygiene, oral health, denture function.

To maintain the cosmetic appearance of the denture and proper oral hygiene the dentures need to be cleaned daily. It is also recommended to rinse the dentures after every meal. The calculus or tartar will collect on the denture teeth the same way it does on the natural teeth. The denture cleaning should be done with the soft brush and mild soap (over the sink filled with water). Regular denture cleaning will also prevent the denture material from absorbing flavors from foods and cigarettes. Fore more details on How to Clean the Denture please click HERE.

To maintain the proper oral health it is important to maintain the oral hygiene and to take the denture out at night when we sleep. Overnight, the denture should be soaked in a cup filled with water. The denture supporting tissues need the time to rejuvenate and rest. The flow of saliva is restricted under the denture while wearing it, so the “rest” time is needed to restore the tissues under the denture. Some denture wearers, who wear their dentures at night, may develop bacterial or fungal infections of the tissues under the dentures. Our saliva has antibacterial properties and therefore is the best first line of defense against oral infections.

Taking the denture out at night also prolongs the proper fit of the denture and its function. Denture wearers who don’t take their dentures out at night will most likely need a denture reline sooner then the ones who do (few months vs. 2-5 yrs respectively). It is well worth to take the denture out at night to maintain the oral health and save $$$ on less frequent relines at the same time.

For information about our NEW SMILE DENTURE CLINIC please visit http://www.newsmiledenture.com/ .

New Smile Denture Clinic - Now Open

Our New Smile Denture Clinic is now open in Shelton, WA!! Our services include full dentures, partial dentures, denture relines and denture repairs. We use only top quality teeth and materials.

Take advantage of our New Patient special: 10% discount on all services through the month of March 2011. Along with everyday 10% discount for Seniors (62+) - those are big savings on top of our already competitive prices! Our exams, evaluations and post insertion adjustments are always FREE. The only cost to the patient is the price of a denture, denture reline or repair. Our price list is available to view at our clinic - stop by or call for the information. There is no obligation and no pressure.

For more information about us and our denture clinic please visit: http://www.newsmiledenture.com/ . I'm looking forward to seeing you soon!!

We have received the permit from the city of Shelton for the wall sign: the contractor promissed to install the sign by March 11th. Go Randy!!

-Alex

Coming soon...

Our new website  http://www.newsmiledenture.com/   will be launched soon. In the meantime please browse our Denture Info blog. The posts are arranged by subject for your convenience. If you have any questions or comments please e-mail Alex at dentureinfo@att.net.

Designing Your Smile

The word “cosmetic” is used today in many contexts, but it is mostly associated with beauty and aesthetics. The term “cosmetic denture” is widely used in advertising by dental and denture providers. Denture wearers will easily see the difference in appearance with and without the denture in their mouth. Wearing a denture is in most cases a big cosmetic improvement, so, pretty much any denture can be called a “cosmetic denture”. Is it really so?...

There are many factors to take under consideration while making a cosmetically pleasing denture; many anatomical challenges can be overcome; many anatomical factors need to be considered to make the denture look natural. All our dentures are made by us in our own lab. The teeth for our dentures are custom selected for each patient accordingly to his/her anatomy and personal preferences. We incorporate the skills and the knowledge of making dentures that come together to over 40 years of experience. We are also working directly and together with the patient to assure that all personalized denture design details are taken under consideration, and that the final product functions and looks the best it can. In our clinic every denture is a cosmetic denture.

Same Day Denture

Can a denture be made in one day?
Yes, it can.
Can it be done well?
That may depend on ones personal standard and definition of “well”. It is certainly possible to rush through all the steps and make “a denture” in one day. It would not be a method of choice for me, but in case of emergency I will certainly make one.

Why do We Lose the Teeth as We Age...?

As people age, different changes occur in their bodies. The most common change that happens in the oral cavity is the loss of the natural teeth. One question that may come up is: why do people lose teeth with age? The reasons are quite complex. There are older people that have most of their natural dentition and there are others that have none. Many individual factors that have occurred in the patient’s life can influence oral disease or other conditions. Some of the most common reasons of tooth loss in older patients are: excessive tooth wear that happens over time, loss of the bone mass that contributes to the periodontal disease, an increase in difficult to restore dental caries, or impaired oral hygiene due to the neglect or medical problems. Xerostomia (dry mouth), caused mostly by some medications, is another reason for the tooth loss. The saliva in the mouth protects the teeth from bacteria that is causing tooth decay, so people with dry mouth or people who sleep with their mouth open, usually are more likely to develop plaque and dental caries, and therefore shorten the life of their teeth.

NUTRITION AND TEETH

The fact is that people with fewer teeth are not able to chew the same foods as people with all their teeth; at the same time the intake of the nutrients is diminished. With less nutritional diet, the aging population is facing more health issues, and that only co-contributes to further weakening of natural dentition and general health. Additionally, after the loss of teeth, people may become withdrawn from the family and social activities, which may affect their general quality of life. I know patients who have not smiled for many years and avoided social events because of the lack of teeth. As there are other options of teeth restorations, like dental implants, they exceed the budget of many patients. Dental prostheses are still the most affordable method of dental restoration.

Grandpa’s lost or loose fitting dentures quite often have been a subject of many jokes, but the truth is, missing dentures or bad fitting dentures are not a laughing matter at all. Most people don’t realize how difficult it is to eat foods of proper nutritional value without any teeth. Oatmeal and cream chicken soup provide only so much; eventually the body is starved for nutrition and the results of that can be very serious.

Choosing Your Denture Provider

The denture can be obtained by a patient through a dentist or a denturist. There are several states in the U.S. that have passed the legislations allowing the denturists to maintain their own practices, to work directly with the patients and to provide dentures to them. Washington State is one of those states. It is also the only state in the U.S. that has a college program for the Denturists at Bates Technical College in Tacoma, WA.

The denturists licensed in Washington State can provide the services pertaining only to the removable dental prostheses (dentures): fabricating, adjusting, fitting, and repairing. Most of the denturists also fabricate their dentures. By doing that and by working directly with the patients, they have full control of the final product. This also gives them the opportunity to design the denture accordingly to the patient’s anatomy, his or her needs, as well as cosmetic requests.

Every dentist provides a broad range of services pertaining to oral health and that makes it very convenient for the patients with various dental care needs. At the same time the denturists focus only on one aspect of dental restoration – dentures; that makes them a great choice to consider for patients looking for the denture provider. Whatever the choice, it is important for the patient to understand the process of designing and making a denture, ask the questions, talk to more than one provider, and then make a comfortable decision.