Dentures – Slidell, LA
Restore All Your Teeth at Once
If you’ve lost most or all of your teeth, you’re probably acutely aware of what an impact that can have on your life. Not only can it impair your confidence, it can seriously hinder your ability to talk and eat with ease. Patients who have been missing their teeth for a long time might think that they’re doomed to live without them, but that isn’t the case.
If you’re near Slidell, LA, the team here at Camellia City Family Dentistry can give you a set of dentures that can completely change how you look. If that sounds intriguing, give us a call and we’ll talk to you about your options.
Why Choose Camellia City Family Dentistry for Dentures?
- Prosthetics Crafted Using State-of-the-Art Technology
- Variety of Payment Options for Affordable Care
- High Quality Materials Used in Prosthetic Development
Who’s a Good Candidate for Dentures?
Dentures are best suited to patients who are missing most or all of their teeth. This prosthetic has the unique ability to simulate many of the teeth at once. Most adults can receive dentures, no matter how many teeth they are missing. But it’s important that you schedule an appointment with a member of our team to determine if they are the right type of tooth replacement for you. If you are not a good candidate right away, you can become one after improving your gum health and bone structure.
Effects of Missing Teeth
When it comes to determining the causes of missing teeth, the truth is that it can happen for many reasons:
- Advanced gum disease that results in loose teeth and bone loss
- Extreme dental decay that results in tooth extraction
- Facial trauma that either knocks out one or more teeth or causes a tooth to need removal because it cannot be saved
According to the American College of Prosthodontists, the most common reasons for tooth loss include gum disease, tooth decay, and extensive trauma (i.e., sports-related injury). Also, the American Academy of Periodontology states that without treatment, the consequences of tooth loss can lead to facial sagging, slurred speech, difficulty eating and maintaining a nutrient-rich diet, and low self-esteem.
What Qualifies You for Dentures?
When meeting with our team, we will evaluate your oral anatomy to determine if you are a good candidate for dentures. Generally, if you have suffered significant tooth loss, much decay, or sensitive teeth, you may be able to receive these custom prosthetics. Of course, you must have healthy gum tissue and sufficient jawbone density to support these new teeth. You must also commit to taking proper care of your new smile by staying on top of your oral hygiene routine.
How many teeth you are missing will ultimately determine whether you receive a partial, full, or implant denture.
If you are looking to stay within a particular budget, you’ll be pleased to know that dentures can be an ideal solution because of their affordability – much more than other forms of tooth replacement.
Alternative Tooth-Replacement Options
Should you discover that dentures are not the right option for you, there are two other methods of treatment you can pursue:
- Dental Bridges – These are great for replacing one or a few missing teeth, but they do require that you have healthy abutment teeth, as your bridge will need to attach to them for a snug fit.
- Dental Implants – These use titanium posts that are placed within the jawbone, so a minor surgical procedure is required. You must have adequate jawbone density to ensure proper support for your new smile.
Types of Dentures
Depending on what you need from your prosthetic, there are three different kinds of dentures available to you. We'll be able to talk to you about which kind suits you well when we meet you in person, but before that, here's what you should know about each of them.
Partial Dentures
Partial dentures are acrylic prosthetics attached to a metal base, allowing them to be affixed to the natural teeth via small metal hooks. As the name would imply they're designed to replace some, but not all, of the teeth on a gum ridge.
Full Dentures
On the other hand, full dentures are designed to replace all of the teeth on a gum ridge. They're made entirely from acrylic and are meticulously crafted to fit your mouth, allowing them to hold fast to your gums entirely via suction.
Implant Dentures
For more stability you can affix your dentures to dental implants, which are metal rods that are surgically placed into the jaw. This makes your dentures stronger and more durable.
While implant dentures are often the more expensive option, they'll also last longer than other prosthetics, meaning that you may save money on replacements in the long run.
The Benefits of Dentures
Given enough time, tooth loss can greatly lower your quality of life. That’s only natural – lacking teeth makes eating, speaking, and even smiling hard. Because we take those declines seriously, our practice offers quality dentures that can transform your situation. Using them would restore your full smile and provide many perks and upsides. As for further details, please keep reading or call us to learn more about the benefits of dentures.
Psychological Benefits
A case of tooth loss – especially a severe one – can be a major blow to mental health. When you know (and feel) you lack teeth, it’s normal to experience self-esteem issues and even depression. Our dentures would help you avoid such moods by filling in your smile’s gaps. In ridding you of those spaces, they’ll boost your confidence and reduce social anxiety. The result should be that you feel more assured of your looks, speech, etc.
Clearer Enunciation
It’s a fact that your tongue needs your teeth to enunciate words clearly. Even if you only lose a few, you’ll start to develop issues like lisps and slurred speech. Fortunately, dentures solve that problem by replacing your missing teeth; they support your tongue enough to form words. Just keep in mind that they won’t let you speak naturally right away. In most cases, patients need daily practice before they can talk with dentures well.
Improves Nutrition
If you suffer from prolonged tooth loss, you’ll end up with a poor diet. Strong teeth allow you to chew most foods, so lacking them may force you to give up tough but healthy meals. The good news is that dentures can step in and solve the dilemma. Thanks to their artificial teeth, they’ll let you chew a wider range of food than you could otherwise. You’ll then prevent any big declines in your nutritional health.
Preserves Oral Health
As you might expect, tooth loss harms your oral health when it goes untreated. The condition causes smile gaps that tilt remaining teeth, let harmful bacteria breed, and slowly erode your jaw. However, dentures would prevent those effects by filling in your grin’s spaces. Wearing them slows down the tilting of other teeth and reduces the spread of bad microbes. At the same time, dentures keep your jaw from eroding quite as much.
Expands Opportunities
For better or worse, good first impressions often depend on pretty teeth; a beautiful smile tends to inspire trust in others. Those impressions can then expand your opportunities – in friendship, romance, career success, etc. As it happens, dentures could give you just the smile for helpful, good impressions. Since they look lifelike and natural, onlookers should find them pleasing to the eye. That means using them would lead to many great opportunities for you!
