What Is A Partial Denture?

Posted by & filed under Dentures.

If you have been looking into dentures you will have no doubt come across the term “partial denture”. But what exactly is a partial denture?

what_is_a_partial_denturePartial dentures are a removable denture, or bridge, which usually consists of replacement teeth which are attached to a pink or gum coloured plastic based. These are sometimes connected by metal framework that holds the dentures in place in the user’s mouth. Partial dentures are used when one or more teeth are left in either upper or lower jaw.

A fixed bridge can replace one or more teeth by placing crowns on the teeth on either side of the space and attaching artificial teeth. This bridge is then cemented into place. Partial dentures not only fill the spaces made by missing teeth but they also prevent other teeth from changing position. Partial dentures differ from permanent dentures in that they are removable and have internal attachments as opposed to clasps that attach to the crowns. This is more natural looking and convenient.

For more information or to book an appointment to discuss what would be best for you,  contact us

Denture Relines - Duchenne Christchurch

Denture Relines Duchenne

Posted by & filed under Dentures.

Denture RelinesDenture Relines Dentures Christchurch

 

  • You might ask yourself, why do my dentures not fit like they used to?
  • Have you lost weight recently and find your dentures have not?
  • Is your quality of life suffering due to ill-fitting dentures?

 

Are you finding yourself struggling to eat and control your dentures, I’m sure its when you least expect it, your smile comes undone.

 

Denture relines are an important and definitely a regular requirement for denture maintenance. All too often it creeps into our thinking that once dentures are fitted and feel comfortable there is no further dental expense in the future. I would like you to think again. The questions above are are asked by our patients all to often and it is clearly a sign that dentures often require attention and maintenance and need to be refitted.

When dentures are first placed and teeth are removed, rapid soft tissue and hard bone begin to resorb (shrink) and reform. This process happens immediately after teeth have been removed and often a reline (refit/adjustment) is required with 9mnths. Sometimes the amount of bone resorption is up to 4mm.

 

 

Again, as time goes on these tissue and bone changes are ongoing. For some this can be reasonably constant and others, not so much. Research will also tell us the lower jawbone is always more susceptible to these changes. Another reason for refitting dentures can often be a result of weight loss. Patients find that when they have lost weight there denture(s) can often become ill-fitting and may require relining.

 

Partial dentures are not exempt. You may have a partial denture and find it becomes loose over time. It may only require a quick adjustment to the clasping arms or maybe a refit is required.
All dentures will lose touch with there fitting surface at time passes.

It is important and we suggest to you and to all our patients that regular visits, every 2-3yrs to have your dentures checked for a degeneration of fit. Ill-fitting dentures not only tend to determine your confidence level and reduce your ability to eat, they also cause damage to underlying tissue and create ulcerations. Its an easy step to have dentures refitted or remade.

 

If you find yourself asking these questions then phone now to have a consultation with one of our clinicians regarding these issues.


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Denture Aesthetics by Duchenne

Posted by & filed under Uncategorized.

The appearance of your dentures is one of the four key factors that determine the success of your full or partial dentures.

This video discusses how to create a beautiful natural-looking smile when having full or partial dentures repaired or constructed.


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Implant Retained Full Dentures

Posted by & filed under Uncategorized.

Implant Dentures – Full, Retained Dentures

 

Meet John, demonstrating why full dentures get loose and painful before going on to reveal how implant-retained dentures can give you comfort and confidence to eat what ever you want

How To Prolong The Life Of Your Dentures

Posted by & filed under Dentures.

If you’re like most dentures wearers, your dentures are a vital part of life. They are literally your smile and everything that goes with your smile.

And even though they are made of durable materials, all dentures are susceptible to wear and damage.

So in order to preserve the fit and function of your dentures, there are four simple yet powerful habits that will maximise the life of your dentures.

Denture Prolonging Habit #1 – Denture Hygiene

Just like natural teeth, failure to regularly clean your dentures will result in staining, bad breath and even disease.

However, unlike natural teeth, because you can take your dentures out there are two distinct phases of denture hygiene, namely day-time care and over-night care.

Day Time Care

It’s recommended that you brush your dentures after every meal, so typically twice a day.

To clean your dentures, first rinse your them under tepid water to remove loose food particles. Avoid hot water as this will distort your dentures.

Next, using either a toothbrush specifically designed for dentures or a regular toothbrush with soft bristles , gently brush every surface of your denture with an acceptable denture cleaner. An acceptable denture cleaner can be a hand soap, mild dish-washing liquid or a commercial denture cleaning paste/creme. Never use powdered household cleaners, regular toothpaste or hard bristled brushes as these are all very abrasive and will scratch your dentures almost instantly. Furthermore, you should never use bleach or denture pastes containing bleach as not only will bleach whiten the pink portion of your dentures, it will also make the resin significantly more fragile.

Over-Night Care

At night, you should leave your dentures out of your mouth and immersed in a denture soak.

Denture soaks come in a variety of forms and are designed to disinfect the bacterial particles that remain on your denture even after brushing as well as prevent staining and odour.

However, most denture soak products contain high concentrations of bleach (chemical name is hypochlorite) which in addition to killing bacteria also significantly weakens your dentures. As a result, soaking your dentures in a bleach-containing soak will result in more frequent breakages, fractures and a much shorter life-span. Therefore, in order to preserve the durability of your dentures you should only use denture cleaning products that are bleach-free (i.e. they do NOT contain hypochlorite).

Denture Prolonging Habit #2 – Denture Protection

The most common causes of denture deterioration and breakage are…

  1. Bleach-induced weakening;
  2. Dropping on to hard surface while cleaning;
  3. Letting dentures dry out;
  4. Soaking dentures in hot water.

Looking at this list, there are four simple habits that will minimise the risk of damage and deterioration to your dentures.

  1. Always clean and soak your dentures with NON-hypoclorite containing products.
  2. Always ensure you fill the sink with tepid water BEFORE you start cleaning your dentures.
  3. Whenever you’re not wearing your dentures, make sure you keep them in water or a denture soaking solution.
  4. Never wash or soak dentures with hot water.

If by chance you do happen to break or damage your denture you should never try to repair it yourself! Instead, you should immediately seek out a clinical denture technician who can professionally repair your denture in the shortest time possible.

Denture Prolonging Habit #3 – Oral Hygiene

What you may or may not realise, we all have small amount of a fungus called candida living in our mouths. Normally, our saliva keeps these fungi at bay. However as soon as you insert a denture in to your mouth you provide a protected environment where these fungi can multiply in the relative absence of saliva. So if leave your dentures in your mouth overnight you’ll very quickly develop a fungal infection known as candidiasis. Know although candidiasis is a painless condition, it causes your gums to swell which in turn can lead to sore spots and ill-fitting dentures.

As such, in addition to the denture hygiene measures already described, after you remove your denture at night, use a clean soft toothbrush and gently massage your gums for about two minutes. Then, after you rinse out with water you should should rinse with a mouthwash that contains an anti-bacterial agent called chlorhexidine. The only commercial mouthrinse on the market that contains chlorhexifine in New Zealand is Savacol.

Denture Prolonging Habit #4 – Professional Examination

The final habit for prolonging the life of your denture is to attend regular denture check-ups. For understandable reasons, many people believe that it’s only necessary to see you dentist or clinical denture technician when you encounter a problem with your denture. This is not true!

In the same way as we outgrow clothes, the progressive shrinkage of your gums causes your mouth to outgrow your dentures. As a result your denture will inevitably need adjusting from time to time to ensure it maintains the most comfortable and accurate fit. As your oral and denture needs are unique to you, only your dentist or clinical denture technician can recommend how often you need a denture examination.

Of particular importance, if you’re a diabetic, if you smoke or if you’ve previously had oral cancer you should have a comprehensive dental examination at least every 12 months.

By following these simple steps not only will you enjoy the benefits of your dentures, you’ll also save a considerable amount money as well.

Implant Dentures – Are You A Good Candidate?

Posted by & filed under Implant Dentures.

Implant dentures represent a massive improvement over conventional style of dentures.

 

The range of benefits implant dentures provide over conventional dentures include:

  1. Significantly improved retention
  2. Significantly improved comfort;
  3. Significantly improved speech;
  4. Significantly improved confidence;
  5. Reduce / prevent further bone loss;
  6. Ability to eat foods you haven’t eaten in years… including apples;
  7. Improve your nutritional health (due to the fact that you can chew better and eat a more balanced diet)

What’s more, of all the various ways a dental clinician can restore your mouth, implants are by far the most predictably successful.

However, while age is definitely no barrier to getting implants, there are three broad categories of factors which need to be assessed before determining whether or not you’re a good candidate to receive implant dentures.

Medical Considerations

The first set of factors that need to be considered all relate to your general health. In particular, there are certain conditions, medications and treatments which can potentially lead to failure of implant integration (i.e. the implants do not fuse to your bone) through infection or impaired bone function. Such factors include:

  1. Uncontrolled Diabetes: Uncontrolled Type II diabetes is well documented to impair healing as well as increases chances of infection  following any type of surgical procedure.
  2. Immune Disorders and Immuno-Suppressive Disorders: Similarly, any disease or medication that impairs your immune system increase chances of infection following surgery.
  3. Bleeding Disorders: While not an absolute contra-indication, any disease or medication which significantly impairs your ability to clot (e.g. hemophilia, warfarin but NOT aspirin) increases the likelihood of post-operative complications as well as potentially impairs operator visibility during implant placement.
  4. Previous Radiotherapy To Jaws: Any jaw bone that has been exposed to radiotherapy to treat a head or neck cancer remains incredibly  susceptible  to a very aggessive form of bone infection known as osteo-radio-necrosis.
  5. Bis-phosphonate Therapy:  There are millions of patients who take  intravenous and oral bis-phosphonates (taken for certain forms of breast cancer and osteoporosis, respectively) which may put patients at a higher risk of developing a delayed healing syndrome called osteonecrosis. While implants are usually contra-indicated for patients who have had intravenous bis-phosphonates, itis widely considered safe to insert implants in patients taking oral bis-phosphonate (such as Actonel, Fosamax and Boniva).
  6. Phenitoin: If you’re an epileptics chances are you take a medication called Phenitoin which is designed to prevent epileptic seizures. An unfortunate side effect of this medication is overgrown gums. Now that may not sound so bad but overgrown gums harbour more plaque which in turn can lead to  infection of your implants.
  7. Terminal Illness: While not an absolute contra-indication, a terminal illness with associated short life expectancy needs to be carefully assessed before commencing implant therapy.

Dental Considerations

In addition to medical conditions and medications, there are several oral factors that can negatively impact the success of an implant fusing with your jaw bone. Such factors include:

  1. Insufficient Bone Volume/Density: For dental implants to work, there must be sufficient height, width and density bone in your jaws. Fortunately, if you lack sufficient bone, more can be added with a bone grafting procedure called bone augmentation.
  2. Proximity Of Nerves: There are two sets of nerves in your jaws that can potentially be damaged during the placement of dental implants. Particularly for the lower jaw there must be sufficient jaw bone above the canals that these nerves run through to ensure a.) there is enough bone to securely hold the implant and b.) you do not experience any tingling or numbness of your gums, chin and  lower lip.
  3. Proximity Of Sinuses: Above where your top back teeth used to be are two air-filled cavities called sinuses. Following removal of teeth the bone that separates your gums from your sinuses can dramatically shrink, often leaving a thin waffer ofbone totally incapable of supporting an implant. In such instances a procedure known as a sinus-lift can be performed to create more bone in this area.
  4. Proximity Of Pathological Lesions: Similarly, any diseases affecting your jaw bones (e.g. bone cysts) may preclude placement of implants until the pathology is dealt with.
  5. Failure Of Previous Implants: While not a predictor of future success, the failure of a previously inserted implant should alert your implant specialist for potential causes of future failure.
  6. Poor oral Hygiene: Many people wrongly believe that once they’ve got implant dentures they no longer have to keep their implants clean. The fact is, just like natural teeth, implants are susceptible to gum infections. Hence, if you are unable to demonstrate good oral hygiene habits  you may jeopardize the success of your implant denture.

General Considerations Many people wrongly believe that once they have

The third and final set of factors that can have an adverse effect on the outcome of your implant therapy all have to do with you as an individual. Such factors include:

  1. Finances: Due to the need for multiple appointments (including surgery), the need for precision componentry and the life-changing benefits, implant dentures command what many would consider a sizable fee. As such, an inability to afford this financial investment can present a barrier to treatment.
  2. Smoking: It’s a well establish fact that smoking impairs healing.
  3. Substance Abuse: For multiple reasons, people who are addicted to substance abuse are very poor candidates for implants.
  4. Touring Job: As the provision of implant dentures requires multiple appointments over several months if you’re constantly on the road and can’t keep multiple appointments then you may not be a suitable candidate.

As part of the planning process, each of these factors are routinely evaluated and assessed prior to formulating a definitve treatment plan.

Thankfully, for pretty much each one of the factors listed above there is a workable solution for working around the problem.  As long as you have sufficient jaw-bone for the procedure and are in good enough health for routine dental treatment, you can get denture implants.

However, if you possess a number of these factors then it tips the balance of success towards greater need for intervention with potentially reduced likelihood for success.

Ultimately, it will be up to you and your team of specialists to decide whether the increased time, financial and biological costs of counter-active measures outweigh the benefits of implant retained dentures.

Naturally, we are all unique with different sets of medical, dental and general factors to consider. So if you’re wanting to explore the option of eating what you want without messy glue, pain or embarrassment then the first step is to come in and see us.

With our complimentary, no-obligation initial consultation we’ll happily assess you and your dentures and point you in the right direction. To take advantage of our complimentary consultation simply give us a call at any one of our eight conveniently located clinics.


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