Dentures

What are Dentures?

Dentures are a treatment designed to replace missing teeth and as such they are similar to a bridge or an implant.

Adult teeth may be lost in any number of ways, including accidental trauma, infection or poor health of the surrounding gums. Replacing a tooth (or a series of teeth) that has been lost may have significant long-term functional benefits in terms of chewing, speaking clearly and maintaining good jaw health. From an aesthetic perspective, replacing missing teeth can improve the look of your smile by filling a space.

A denture is a plate (or framework) that supports one or more artificial teeth. It can be manufactured from acrylic or cobalt chrome and is usually removable for cleaning and maintenance, although it can be fixed in place using a series of implants (an implant-retained denture).

Removal dentures are the most affordable way to replace missing teeth. While implant-retained dentures are a more convenient solution, they are significantly more expensive.

Is the Denture Suitable for You?

Partial dentures can be an effective treatment option to replace a single tooth or groups of missing teeth, while a full denture can replace a complete set of teeth on either the top or the bottom of your mouth.

Dentures are most suitable as an affordable tooth replacement solution. Although they are built in a laboratory by a dental prosthetist, they can be constructed quite quickly, making them suitable for emergency treatment, such as knocked-out teeth. Even in non-emergencies, dentures are commonly used as a medium-term measure before more major treatment is completed.

Dentures are not recommended where aesthetics are the key concern. The fact that removable dentures need to be taken out for cleaning and maintenance makes them less convenient than the other tooth replacement options.

Achieving a perfectly comfortable fit can be very challenging, and often several adjustments are required.

What’s the Procedure for Treatment?

The treatment process for a partial denture is as follows.

The area where your teeth are missing is first prepared, then the surrounding teeth and gums are treated to ensure that they’re healthy.
Numerous impressions are taken. CarePlus Dental sends these to a quality Melbourne laboratory to act as the blueprint for your denture, which is created by hand.
Between two and four weeks later, your denture is fitted. At this point, it is adjusted to achieve the best fit. This process of trying in and adjusting may be repeated several times to continually improve the fit.

Dentures do need to be “worn in”, and we are here to help with that process.

Our fees include all the necessary adjustments to achieve the best possible outcome for you.

Each denture is individually handcrafted by our dental technician right here in Melbourne. We do not send any of our work overseas.