Removable prostheses, sometimes called: dentures, partials, flippers, are dental appliances that are worn in the mouth to replace any missing teeth.
There are two main categories of dentures:
- Complete dentures
- Partial dentures
Complete dentures are used to “completely restore” all of the missing teeth. These dentures are for those for have no teeth at all. For example, a person may not have any of their upper teeth, so they would receive a complete/full set of upper dentures.
Comparatively, partial dentures are for those who are only missing some of their teeth. They still have some of their natural teeth remaining, but still need to replace the ones that are missing. Partial dentures will clip on to your natural teeth while filling in any teeth that are missing.
There are two subcategories of complete and partial dentures:
- Immediate/interim dentures
- Conventional/permanent dentures
Immediate (interim) dentures are for patients who plan to extract their bad teeth and leave the good ones, during their healing period (between 4-8 weeks). We obviously do not want to send a patient home without any teeth, so a temporary set is made and ready for the patient before the oral surgery appointment. Once the patient has their teeth extracted, they will be sent home with immediate dentures, so that the patient can eat, and heal faster.
After 4-8 weeks of healing, the patient will be ready for a conventional/permanent set of dentures. A frequently asked question is, “why can’t I continue to use my immediate dentures?” The answer is, as time passes and the areas around the extraction sites heal, there will be changes in the bone and gum tissue structure where the teeth used to be. There will be shrinkage and changes in the shape of the mouth, usually causing the denture to become loose and ill-fitting.
At this time, after the patient has healed, they will return back to Dr. Ha’s office at Newport Beach Dental Studio, where they will be fitted with a permanent set of dentures. Permanent dentures differ in that the build quality and materials used are far superior to immediate dentures. Permanent dentures will also fit better than immediate dentures because permanent dentures are measured and adjusted to the patients’ liking.
Conventional/permanent dentures can also be indicated for patients who have had missing teeth for a long time and do not need immediate dentures. They will not be extracting any teeth, but instead want to replace what’s missing.
When a patient is ready to get dentures, Dr. Ha of Newport Beach Dental Studio will discuss all the options with his patients and share his advice as to which he thinks would be the best option for the patients. There is no “one size fits all” denture, as everyone is different, and has different requirements and preferences, but Dr. Ha will use his knowledge, experience, and skills to provide a great set of dentures.