There are many times when patients present to us with front teeth that need to be removed/extracted. Some reasons for extracting teeth include loose teeth, painful teeth, infected teeth, and broken teeth.
When are immediate dentures used?
If we take these teeth out, it would leave unsightly gaps in your smile – a situation we would want to avoid at all costs. If it’s a single tooth, we can extract the tooth and provide you with a fixed tooth that replaces it straight away. This can either be done with an implant or a temporary bridge. If neither of these options are suitable, or if you have multiple teeth missing, then a denture would be the only other solution. This type of denture is called an “immediate denture,” as we fit it immediately after taking your teeth out, meaning that you are never left with a gap.
How do you make an immediate denture?
An immediate denture is made just like a normal denture, but there are some challenges. The most difficult part is that we can’t “try-in” the denture before we process it. The “try-in” stage normally involves us placing the denture teeth in your mouth, before it’s processed, so that we can check the cosmetics, bite, fit, etc. Because you have your teeth still in your mouth (as they are planned for extracting soon), they would prevent us from trying in the denture. Therefore, it is impossible to check these factors before the fit.
Getting Immediate Dentures
After we have performed the extractions we would fit the denture, check the bite, cosmetics, and fit. If there are any issues, we would resolve them on that day to ensure you have a pleasant experience. The first few weeks of wearing a denture can be difficult, as it takes a while for you to get used to the sensation and for the denture to bed-in.
Are immediate dentures permanent?
They can be. It really depends on how many teeth were extracted and which teeth they were. Once teeth are extracted, your body begins a remodeling process of the bone that supported the teeth. The bone shrinks as it heals. It shrinks a fair amount in the first 3 months and then it continues to shrink slowly for the rest of your life. The shrinkage in the first three months is unpredictable – sometimes it’s a lot and sometimes only a small amount. For smaller teeth (i.e. lower front ones) the shrinkage is less, and more predictable, and for larger teeth, the shrinkage is a lot more and less predictable. Therefore, it’s always best to wait for three to four months to see how much healing has taken place.
If you have lots of extractions, we normally say we will fit you an immediate temporary denture, wait a few months for healing, and then make a new denture for you once the healing has taken place. If you only have one or two teeth to remove, and they are small front ones, we can normally fit permanent dentures on the day of extraction(s). We would check the healing after a few months and if you have had a lot of shrinkage (leaving a large gap between your denture and gums) we could do something called a reline. This is where we take an impression of the fitting surface of the denture and basically fill in the gap between your denture and your gums.
I’m worried about getting a denture, who is the best practice to speak to?
We fit immediate dentures all the time at The Denture & Implant Clinic, and we have the team, skills, and set-up to make it work for everyone. Give us a call on 0208 404 1456 and we would be happy to see you to give you options on what would work best for you.
