In the early days of dentistry, there was one type of denture. It was big, bulky, and only minimally helpful when chewing. Fortunately, things have changed. Today’s cosmetic dentures are beautiful, comfortable, and functional. There are several options available, depending on your situation.
Partials
If you only have a few missing teeth, and the rest are standing strong, then partial dentures might be a good solution. They are custom-made to replace only the teeth that are missing, and fit around the others. The traditional alternative to partials is a fixed bridge. The greatest advantage of a bridge is stability. It is attached to crowns, which are permanently bonded to existing teeth. That is also the greatest disadvantage to a bridge. Even if those teeth are perfectly healthy, they need to be reduced to accommodate the crown.
Complete
If you have nothing left but gums, it’s time for complete dentures. Traditionally, they are not attached to anything. They are held in place by suction, which works well if the dentures are well made. At Big Smile Dental, we take great care to design appliances with a beautiful fit and appearance. This is a quick, comfortable, affordable, and attractive solution to being toothless. However, even with an excellent fit, suction does not provide as much stability as real teeth.
Implants
Traditional fixed bridges, full dentures, and partials all have their pros and cons. As with most things in life, a little compromise is necessary. After all, nothing is perfect, right? That may be true, but dental implants come about as close as you could imagine. They are tiny titanium cylinders that do a very big job. An implant “rooted” in the jawbone provides the same support as a tooth root. That means bridges don’t require alteration to your existing teeth, and dentures have the same degree of stability as your real teeth did. We can replace one, several, or all of your teeth with all of the “pros” and none of the “cons” of traditional appliances.
Are you ready to fill the gaps in your smile and your confidence? Call Big Smile Dental at 773-772-8400 and learn more about your options.
