Dentures & Partials in Evansville IN

Dentures and partials are effective and practical solutions to the problem of missing teeth.

Anyone who has gone through the trauma of losing a tooth knows how much it affects almost every aspect of life. The most apparent distressing issue is the visible change to your smile. A gap in your smile can never look graceful, refined, or polished; in fact, it can make you appear comical, or older than your years.

While that is troublesome enough, missing teeth also determine what food you can comfortably eat (no apples or steak) and even how you sound when you speak. All of this combined takes a drastic toll on your self-esteem.

Dentures and partials are useful and practical solutions to the problem of missing teeth. Unlike the dentures your grandparents may have had, today’s dentures are designed to look realistic and attractive, and improved technology keeps them in place to avoid embarrassing slips.

Today’s modern dentures allow you to eat a variety of foods once forbidden to denture wearers. In fact, most people will never know that you are wearing dentures at all! Your dentist in Evansville, IN, Dr. Chris Meunier, can help restore your smile to its original strength and beauty.

• What Are Dentures and Partials?
• Do I Need to Replace My Missing Teeth?
• Removable vs. Permanent Dentures
• Caring for Your Dentures
• Contact Us for a Denture Evaluation

What Are Dentures and Partials?

Dentures and partials are simply artificial teeth set into a plastic and/or metal base that you wear over your gums.

Dentures in Evansville, IN are designed to replace all your teeth. Also known as complete or full dentures, these are an excellent tooth restoration option if you are missing all or most of your teeth on the upper or lower arch, or both. Dr. Meunier may recommend dental extractions if other teeth in your mouth are damaged or decayed.

Partial dentures in Evansville, IN, “fill in the blanks” when you are only missing some of your teeth. This is a great option when you have healthy teeth in your mouth that we don’t need to extract. It’s essential to restore your missing teeth to avoid the bite pressure shifting in your mouth. When there are gaps in your smile, neighboring teeth start to shift to overcompensate for the gap; this changes the alignment of your smile and can damage existing teeth. Partial dentures avoid this by filling in the gaps and preventing deterioration of your oral structure in a minimally invasive dental procedure.

Dentures and partials are more cost-effective than other tooth replacement options, and they do a great job restoring the vitality of your smile and the function of your bite. Different designs and styles are available, and we’ll work with you to find the denture or partial that is right for you.

Do I Need to Replace My Missing Teeth?

Missing teeth can cause you to miss out on a lot of what life has to offer. You probably find that you have to avoid certain foods you used to love because eating them has become painful or even impossible. The sound and clarity of your speech might change, and people may have trouble understanding you. Even the shape of your face changes when teeth are missing, and you may look older than you actually are due to facial sagging.

Our society places a stigma on missing teeth. You may find that others judge you unfairly because of your teeth and make untrue assumptions, and you may even miss out on career opportunities. If you are self-conscious about your appearance, you may feel your confidence and self-esteem begin to erode until you avoid social situations and even slide into depression.

Dentures and partials can put a stop to all of this and help you enjoy life again. Your dentist in Evansville can help determine if dentures or partials are a good option for you.

Removable vs. Permanent Dentures

Advances in dental technology have given us a range of options to make sure that you are truly happy with your new smile. In addition to traditional removable dentures and partial appliances, we can also now create more permanent versions that are held in place with dental implants.

Also known as “implant-retained dentures,” they replace your missing tooth root and are permanent as they fuse with your jawbone. If you would like to pursue a more durable option for tooth replacement, we’ll discuss these appliances with you.

Caring for Your Dentures

Everyone knows the myth surrounding first president George Washington and his wooden dentures. According to historians and dental scientists, his dentures were actually fabricated from ivory—as was the trend in that day. Ivory tended to stain over time, creating a grained, wood-like appearance that may have started this myth. Keeping his dentures clean was important to the President; in fact, in one letter sent to him by his dentist after cleaning and repairing a set of his dentures, the dentist wrote, "the sett you sent me from philadelphia...was very black...Port wine being sower takes off all the polish."

It’s interesting to think that small, day-to-day oral habits remain the same over time, linking all of us to our forebearers. Even with modern dental materials that greatly surpass dentures from just 50 years ago, cleaning and maintaining dentures is one thing that remains constant. Thankfully, it’s incredibly easy to do so.

If you have implant-supported dentures, caring for them is as simple as brushing your own teeth. Continue to visit our Evansville dental office as directed for regular checkups and professional cleanings to keep your dentures in great shape.

Removable dentures and partials do require a little extra care to keep them looking and feeling great. Washing your appliance daily with a brush and cleaner designed specifically for dentures will remove bacteria and prevent plaque from developing on the denture. Typically, full and partial dentures can last five to 10 years, but patients must work to extend the shelf-life of their dental prosthetics. When you clean your dentures, it’s important only to use cool or lukewarm water since hot water can cause the plastic to warp, which changes the fit of the appliance. An incorrectly fitting appliance can cause injury to your gums. If you notice that the denture is not sitting quite the way it used to (or if you drop your denture), call our office so we can examine your appliance and perform any necessary repairs.

Here are more tips on caring for your dentures to ensure that they last many years:

• Take care when handling your dentures; they are more delicate than they may appear to be and can easily break if you drop them. Take extra caution when taking them out to clean by holding them over a towel in case they fall.
• Never allow your dentures to dry, always keep in them in water when you’re not using them.
• While it might seem to be natural to clean dentures with hot water, you will actually end up warping them and creating damage.
• Plaque and tartar can still build up on dentures, and food particles can get stuck, so it’s important always to brush them.

Your Evansville dentist, Dr. Meunier, will be able to provide further clarification or answer questions you may have.

Contact Us for a Denture Evaluation in 47715

Are you ready to see the difference that modern, affordable dentures can make in your life? Are you sick of living with a gap in your smile, or being held back from eating your favorite meals? We can help restore your missing teeth and give you the gift of an attractive smile.

Call Reliant Family Dental in Evansville, Indiana, today to schedule your appointment with Dr. Chris Meunier.