Ah, Dentures! For some reason these things hold a special place in my heart! It's probably because of the numberless hours I spent in Fairfield Connecticut at the office of Dr. Gary Horblitt making them. My coresidents and I forged some lasting relationships there and had some great conversations over steaming hot dripping wax and acryllic teeth... fun all around!

 

Dentures tend to be a treatment option that dentists aren't too fond of. It's tedious work and requires a lot of appointments and chair time to do correctly. Impressions have to be exact, a firm knowledge of where the borders of the denture should lie must be gained and then there's the esthetics of it all. It's all in the details. Based on the experience I gained in my residency you can feel confident that no step will be missed and the best possible denture will be made using quality products and labs. 

 

There are also a lot of options when it comes to dentures. A conventional denture can restore esthetics and quite a bit of function but will never emulate natural teeth when it comes to functional aspects of chewing and stability. Upper dentures are retained by suction and most patients, after getting used to the bulk of the restoration, can function fairly well with them. Lower dentures are another beast all together. While an extremely well made lower denture can restore some function, many patients feel the need to use adhesives to get them to retain and provide adequate chewing ability. For this reason, implants become a viable option. Implants help retain the denture and provide significantly better function. The most basic of implant retained dentures requires the placement of 2 or more implants in the lower jaw and then retrofitting the denture with special buttons to attach to the implants. This provides significantly improved retention and, consequently, better function. The most complex implant retained dentures require a minimum of 4 implants on each jaw and a denture that is screwed into place. These types of dentures provide function that rivals natural teeth. 

 

Each type of dentures and all their variations have unique risks and benefits. If you would like to know what options would best suit you and your unique situation please call for a free consult  at: 719.599.3999