Dentures – Rio Rancho, NM

Effects of Missing Teeth

Before anything else, remember to consider the effects of missing teeth. Doing so helps you see how treatment can (or can’t) benefit your mouth.

Tooth loss itself can stem from a wide range of causes. In one case, a person may lose a few teeth due to cavities or pulp-related infections. Someone else’s tooth might fall out from gum disease – a condition that weakens the gum and jaw tissues holding your pearly whites. Yet another person may even get teeth knocked out, whether from injuries or accidents.

The effects of tooth loss, meanwhile, are stable and harsh. The most apparent one is how lacking teeth makes smiling, speaking, and eating much more difficult. That said, smile gaps can also make teeth tilt, erode your jawbone, and serve as breeding grounds for harmful bacteria. Failing to restore missing teeth will thus cause serious problems that deserve immediate help.

What Qualifies You for Dentures?

As stated before, almost any adult with missing teeth can get dentures; qualifying for them doesn’t involve strict requirements.  You’ll just want to note three points about candidacy.

For starters, dentures only work for patients with good oral health. They require strong gum and jaw tissues to remain stable, and having weak gums or jawbones will cause the prosthetics to slip. The only exceptions to this rule are slightly sensitive or decayed teeth; dentures can replace these.

Second is that the number of teeth lost affects which dentures you need. For instance, a patient who’s only missing a few will most benefit from a partial model. Others may require a full denture if they’ve lost all the teeth along an arch.

Thirdly (and lastly), finances often play a role in denture treatment. The fact remains that dentures cost much less than other tooth replacements like dental bridges or dental implants. As such, they’re ideal for patients with limited funds.

Alternative Tooth-Replacement Options

You needn’t worry if you don’t initially qualify for dentures. Here at Southwest Dental, we offer several other tooth replacements you could try. These include the following:

• Dental Bridges – A dental bridge is a fixed restoration, one that typically consists of two dental crowns fused to a pontic (i.e., an artificial tooth).  Dentists must thus alter nearby natural teeth (i.e., abutments) to place the device, which can “restore” up to four adjacent teeth at once.
• Dental Implants – Unlike other options, dental implants are small titanium posts set in the jaw’s empty sockets. They fuse with the jawbone over time, serving as highly secure prosthetic teeth.

<Learn More About Dental Bridges>

<Learn More About Dental Implants>

Step 1: Impressions

The first step is to capture impressions of your mouth. This is necessary for designing a denture that is precisely the right shape and size. At our practice, our dentist in Rio Rancho captures digital impressions using a state-of-the-art iTero scanner. Compared to traditional impressions made out of putty, digital impressions can be taken significantly faster, and they tend to be more accurate.

Step 2: Wax Mold Creation

We will send your digital impressions to a trusted dental lab so that the process of making your denture can truly begin. Trained technicians will create a wax model of your gums. Then artificial teeth will be placed into the model using a special device known as an articulator. The result will be a wax denture meant to represent what the completed prosthesis will look like. 

Step 3: Fit Check

Once we receive the wax denture, we’ll have you come into our office for a fit check. During this visit, you’ll wear the prosthesis so that we can confirm that it fits properly. Once we’ve made sure that everything looks good, we’ll send the wax denture back to the lab.

Step 4: Back to the Lab for Refinements

For the next step of the process, the wax denture will be inserted into a flask. Said flask will then be immersed in boiling water to melt away the wax. A plaster mold will be used to help maintain the shape of the denture even after the wax is gone.

After a liquid separator has been added to the plaster, acrylic will be injected into the flask. Once the acrylic has hardened, it will serve as the permanent base of your new denture. The completed prosthesis will be taken out of the flask, and the plaster mold will be carefully removed. The lab technicians will cut away unnecessary acrylic before giving your denture a thorough polishing.

Step 5: Take Them Home!

The denture will be sent back to our office. At this point, we’ll be able to schedule your final fitting appointment. During this visit, we’ll confirm that your dentures fit and function as intended. On top of that, we’ll give you instructions for wearing and taking care of your new prosthesis. After that, you can head home with your recompleted smile!

Psychological Benefits

When you are interacting with people, dentures can reduce your anxiety about your ability to chew food, and talk clearly, as well as regarding how you look. Having your smile restored in appearance and function is naturally a boost to your self-esteem. When you dwell too much on your tooth loss, it makes sense you might be less inclined to partake in social activities. People without teeth often have a tough time accepting their tooth loss, which isn’t a bad thing if you are motivated to do something about it. But those who try to live with it run a higher risk of battling depression.

Clearer Enunciation

As you might know from experience, missing even a few teeth can make it more challenging to speak clearly. After all, your tongue and lips need proper positioning for word pronunciation. When your tongue doesn’t touch your teeth, some words are extremely difficult to articulate so others understand you. Fortunately, dentures fill the role your natural teeth once played so that you can enunciate more clearly. With a bit of practice during a short adjustment period and you’ll be speaking with ease once again.

Improves Nutrition

As you are well aware, a lot of nutritious foods – vegetables, fruits, and healthy proteins, for example – can be somewhat difficult to chew. When you don’t chew sufficiently due to tooth loss, your body suffers later on from malnutrition and indigestion. On the other hand, dentures will enable you to include a wider array of healthy foods in your personal menu and ensure you chew them thoroughly. Looking to the rest of your life, you simply can’t afford to deprive yourself of essential nutrients when the benefits of dentures in Rio Rancho could be a game-changer for your overall health.

Preserves Oral Health

When a person is missing some teeth, their adjacent natural teeth can start to shift out of place in an attempt to fill the gap. To potentially avoid jawbone resorption and further tooth loss, dentures can play a crucial role to stabilize your smile. Also consider they can bear some of the load when you are chewing, thereby reducing the wear and tear on your natural teeth.

Expands Opportunity

Think about when you first meet someone. Their smile, or lack thereof, is likely one of the easiest aspects to recall. When it comes to one’s professional life – pursuing job interviews, promotions, or sales – a complete smile goes a long way to help you fulfill the goal of a great first impression. A 2019 study released by the American Association of Public Health Dentistry revealed that the probability of being employed was negatively associated with poor oral health. Factor in your personal life with dating and friendships and it’s easy to see how regaining a full smile with dentures in Rio Rancho can be a life-changing decision!