Dentures are prosthetic removable devices used to replace missing teeth. The surrounding tissue helps to fix them.

Because of missing teeth, it’s hard to a patient to speak normally. Facial muscles sag and make the look older. Due to dentures a human restores a smile, brings back an ability to talk and eat like before.

A prosthodontist is an expert who specializes in the teeth restoration and replacement. The dentist advises appropriate dentures to each patient.

There are two common types of dentures:

1. Complete dentures are used when a patient have lost all teeth.
2. Partial dentures or bridges are used when the natural teeth present

Once complete dentures are chosen for a patient, the long term treatment begins. All teeth must be removed and the gum tissue must be treated. The healing takes usually about a month. Only after that a patient is allowed to wear dentures permanently.
Depending on the budget, insurance conditions and the convenience the patient may choose one of the following options:

• Conventional dentures. These dentures are prepared during the treatment.  
  The whole healing period a patient will be without teeth. The advantage of this procedure is that healing is going better and more profitable price.
• Immediate dentures. They are prepared in advance. This is a temporary solution until conventional dentures will be ready. It is the best option for public persons, who always speaks during the work.

If there are healthy teeth (even one tooth) in the upper or lower jawbone, a removable partial denture or bridge are used.  

It takes a few weeks to prepare a denture. A dentist makes a series of impressions, measures the relation of upper and lower jaws, the space between them and then creates a draft model. A patient tries it for a several times, chooses the color. After the final model is fixed, additional adjustments are usually required until a patient gets comfortable to insert, keep and remove them. For a several days, a patient will need to wear them even at night.

A patient should eat carefully to get used to the new denture. It is recommended to eat soft foods, cut the meal in small pieces, chew slowly, and use both sides of the mouth. It is also recommended to avoid any food that may hurt both gums and devise.

A patient also needs to practice a speech and control the jaws. The muscles of the tongue still need to get used to it. A patient should be careful and contact to a dentist, if any “clicks” is noticed during the speech.

The dentures become a part of oral cavity, so it is important to keep them clean.  A person should wash them carefully every morning before wearing and after each meal. Food debris gets stuck that can bring to bad breath. It is recommended to clean it with liquid dish detergent and a special soft brush. It is important to clean also the gums with another soft brush and toothpaste. Keep the dentures wet when not wearing them and soak them in a cleaner solution in order to avoid warping.

The dentures wearer should visit a dentist regularly, at least once every six months.