What is a Denture?
Dentures are prosthetic devices intended to replace any missing teeth. These dentures can exist as a full set, a half-set, or as a customizable set to suit your needs. Dentures are specially designed to fit your mouth so that way you can continue eating, speaking, and feeling like your normal self again. Typically made of porcelain, plastic, or resin, dentures have been a concept since ancient times, where civilizations have used animal teeth, metals, stones, and seashells to replace any missing teeth that they’ve had before. Nowadays, they’re made with materials that are highly durable.
Why Should I Get Dentures?
Dentures help support the structures of your mouth and give your jawbones and cheeks a fuller, natural look. The face without those teeth tends to prematurely age without that support, and for purely aesthetic reasons, dentures help make you feel and look beautiful. Dentures, on the practical side, help you eat your favorite foods again. Those without dentures tend to have limited diets, which can result in poor nutrition as a result. Dentures also help with speaking, as with any language, there are certain parts of vowels and consonants that can’t be fully pronounced properly without the front or back teeth to aid it.
What about Partials? Can I Get Partials?
Partials, even if they may seem unnecessary, are actually quite essential for the same reasons anyone would want a full set of dentures. Partials help restore the natural ability to chew, help support the neighboring teeth in their growth, and can help with speech. Without partials, the neighboring teeth can be misshaped and misaligned, resulting in crooked and possible damaged teeth.
How Do I Take Care of My Dentures?
Rinse Your Dentures – Before eating and after eating, you should rinse the dentures of any food residue and other particles with cool to warm water. Hot water can potentially damage the dentures and warp them, causing them to not fit in your mouth
Clean Your Mouth Out – Brush your remaining teeth and your gums of any food residue. Having a clean palette is a nice thing to have because placing clean dentures in a dirty mouth is unproductive and unsanitary.
Brush Your Dentures – Once a day, brush your dentures with a denture cleanser and toothbrush to clean the grooves and protect the dentures from dirt and damage.
Soak Them Overnight – Soaking them overnight allows the dentures to keep its shape. If you’re unsure about how and whether to soak them, then contact your dentist.
Schedule regular Dentist Checkups – Scheduling regular checkups will allow you and your dentist to keep up with your teeth, test out your dentures to see how they work, and have your dentures professionally cleaned.
If you’re looking to get dentures or need your dentures cleaned, then pick up the phone and call Dr. Shadi Heidarian at Heritage Park in Palo Alto, CA. With an excellent team of dentists and practitioners, they’ll be able to answer any questions you may have about dentures, get you dentures at an affordable price, and keep up with you and your dental health.
