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Dentist in Edmonton | Dentures and the Alternatives
At The Tooth Doctor, Dr. Peter Yoo is the founding owner and operator of the clinic. He is passionate about offering excellent dental care for the whole family. He not only has state of the art equipment and technology, but also offers extended evening and weekend hours at three locations to be sure to help as many families as possible.
Many of the reasons patients come into The Tooth Doctor for are routine checkups, fillings, teeth straightening and whitening plus several other speciality services such as implants and root canals and crowns and more. He is even able to assess and treat some common denture problems that many patients suffer from.
When a patient loses a tooth there are many different solutions to address this issue, but the main thing to remember is to replace it and that is where many people choose dentures to do that. This a workable solution for many as it allows them to be able to keep eating as they did before and to keep their smile looking bright and beautiful as well as intact. However, there are many cases where the solutions that were meant to fix the gaps become an issue or problematic.
Some issues are not common
Denture issues are something The Tooth Doctor can help with otherwise if it is a trickier situation he refers the patient to the professional, the denturist. Some of the common issues Dr. Yoo sees is that a tooth may have broken off, there is an imbalance in the fit of the dentures, or there is pain involved in how the denture fits. Dr. Yoo can assess and if necessary realign or adjust to make the denture fit better. However, if the patient has not had a routine check up with the denturist Dr. Yoo always suggests that is important to do immediately.
If the denture is not fitting right there is also the possibility that food may get trapped and cause further problems. The other issue if the denture is ill-fitting is that there may be pain involved. There should never be pain involved with denture wearing.
Three Main Types of Dentures
There are three types of dentures, full, partials and overdentures. Full mean there are no natural teeth left and all of them are now dentures. Partial are where you have at least one or more natural teeth left. Overdenture is where you have some teeth, but the denture sits overtop of them. An example of this is canine teeth shaved down and cones sit on top of them within the denture and these natural teeth help with support and fit for the denture.
Many wearers express that they have difficulty eating with their dentures. At first it is an adjustment to have dentures in your mouth let alone use them. It feels foreign having them because anything not natural is going to take an adjustment. Having any type of denture in your mouth feels different and can be bulkier. This bulkiness can affect the bite, chewing and even speech. Having dentures changes the feeling and sensation in the mouth. It feels different so the bite power is reduced.
If you are experiencing slippage, difficulty speaking or pain it is important you go into see the denturist or dentist regularly to make sure the fit of your dentures are right. If they are not aligned properly, you can experience pain. This painful feeling is likely coming from sores or ulcers. Dentures should be sitting as much on the tooth as possible. Gaps cause pressure and a negative effect on the bone which causes the bone to shrink faster. This is not a good outcome and should be addressed before damage is done.
Wear Them
You would not believe how many denture wearers avoid wearing their dentures because something is not quite right. This should never be the case, but it happens more often than it needs to. The reason so many are avoiding wearing dentures is due to issues when wearing them. It is quite common to not wear them, and it usually comes down to the fit being off. It is hard to chew or speak when things feel so unnatural. Instead of just not wearing them, it is so important to visit the denturist or at the very least the dentist to assess what is going on and how it can be remedied. Its often a simple fix or adjustment.
Now that we know a lot of patients are not wearing their dentures regularly, it is time to address the potential issues that come with that. If you are not wearing your dentures you are not protecting the teeth you already have. When worn properly the dentures spread the force of the bite which allows you to chew properly. Wearing them also supports the rest of your teeth. If you leave gaps open between your teeth, shifting and moving of the remaining teeth is what happens. This gives dire results as the teeth are incorrectly aligned with prolonged gaps.
Many patients decide to combine implants to allow for a supported denture. This gives stability. The dentures can be clipped on to the implants which allows for a solid connection.
If you are wondering how to get implants with full or partial dentures, at The Tooth Doctor we assess the remaining teeth if any and the bone quality. From there we plan out what kind and how many implants are needed. We also assess how the implant can support the denture. This hybrid or support takes some careful planning. You may have not known, but some dentures are screwed on and are never taken out. Its even more important that these patients go in for regular checkups. The permanent dentures may need to be unscrewed and cleaned up and placed back in place.
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Dr. Yoo works with the denturists too. He refers out to them, and they refer back for other procedures specific to the role of the dentist. They work in collaboration very well.