Dentures – Waterbury, CT
Enjoy Life Without Tooth Loss
Although your teeth are designed to last for a lifetime, this is not the case for 120 million adults in the United States. Disease, trauma, decay, and other factors can cause tooth loss, and since each tooth plays an important role in your oral health and quality of life, you need an effective way to restore your smile. Many turn to Waterbury Smiles for dentures that allow them to enjoy a complete grin. Here’s a brief guide to how we can help, but don’t be afraid to contact us with any questions or to schedule a consultation.
Why Choose Waterbury Smiles For Dentures?
- Experienced Dentist
- Lifelike and Beautiful Restorations
- Financing Options Available
Who Is a Good Candidate for Dentures?
The loss of even a single tooth can significantly impact your confidence and quality of life. Missing teeth can make it difficult to eat many foods, leading to nutritional deficiencies over time while also making it more difficult to speak clearly.
Your oral health will also become compromised. The loss of a tooth can allow the neighboring teeth to shift out of place, causing alignment issues that increase your risk for tooth decay and gum disease by making oral hygiene more difficult. Tooth loss can also lead to dental injuries by unevenly redistributing the chewing pressure among the remaining teeth.
It’s important to have healthy gums before receiving dentures, so any gum disease will have to be treated and resolved before you can be fitted for your appliance. In many cases, individuals who are not missing all of the teeth in an arch may be better suited by a restorative treatment other than dentures.
Types of Dentures
There are several types of dentures, and the one that is right for you depends on factors such as your preferences and the number of remaining teeth. After your consultation, our doctor may recommend:
Partial Dentures
Partial dentures are custom-made prosthetic crowns attached to a gum-colored base that replace one or more missing teeth. A partial denture will feature a series of metal clips that hold it in place by connecting to the remaining natural teeth.
Full Dentures
Full dentures are used when all the teeth are missing on one arch. These customized appliances include a full set of prosthetic teeth held in a gum-colored acrylic base. These dentures are secured in the mouth using denture adhesive, the mouth’s natural suction, or a combination of both.
Implant Dentures
Implant dentures allow for a more permanent solution with a superior hold. The prosthetic teeth are anchored in place using dental implant posts that are surgically placed into the jawbone. These dentures look more natural, last longer, and create superior chewing force that allows the patient to enjoy the wide variety of foods needed for a healthy diet.
The Benefits of Dentures
When you are missing multiple or all your teeth, once-basic tasks like eating, speaking, or grinning confidently become much more challenging. Dentures are a proven solution that can restore your smile’s appearance and functionality to improve your daily quality of life. Whether you need a full or partial set, these restorations offer many advantages that help you look and feel like the best version of yourself.
Continue reading to learn more about how you could benefit from dentures, and feel free to contact us for additional information.
Psychological Benefits
You likely didn’t choose to lose your teeth, and it can be difficult to accept the sudden changes to your reflection and abilities. You might feel embarrassed or self-conscious and start to worry so much about how others might judge you that you avoid spending time with them. Unfortunately, missing out on social activities or valued time with loved ones combined with poor self-esteem can result in anxiety or depression.
Our team can boost your mental and emotional well-being by rebuilding your smile so you feel more confident and at-ease.
Clearer Enunciation
Your teeth are essential in your ability to speak because you must press your tongue against them in specific ways to produce a variety of sounds. Gaps in your grin can lead to changes in your speech patterns, like a lisp.
Thankfully, with dentures in place, you once again have a full set of teeth to enunciate words to communicate more clearly. It can take about a month for your tongue and other supporting muscles in your mouth to adjust to speaking around your prosthetics, but you can ease this transition by practicing speaking slowly or reading out loud at home when you’re alone.
Improves Nutrition
Did you know that patients missing teeth are more vulnerable to gastrointestinal problems or becoming malnourished? Your chompers are responsible for grinding food sufficiently enough to be easily swallowed and digested. If you’re missing some, you might end up consuming overly large pieces that clog up your system or stick to softer, less nutritious foods that are easier to eat.
Your new teeth restore your chewing power so you can enjoy a wider variety of wholesome ingredients to support your oral and overall well-being.
Preserves Oral Health
Any remaining teeth in your mouth are likely to shift out of alignment to fill in the gaps left behind by ones that were lost. This can wear down your enamel unevenly or prematurely, increasing your vulnerability to tooth decay or gum disease.
When you wear your dentures, they ensure that everything remains in its right place to prevent potential problems.
Expands Opportunities
It’s natural to want to make a positive first impression when you have an upcoming job interview, reunion, first date, or other momentous occasion. However, the quality of your smile is one of the first things that other people notice about you, and if you’re missing teeth, you might be remembered for the wrong reasons.
Having a complete set of teeth boosts your confidence so you can enjoy increased opportunities on the job, deeper relationships, and a more satisfying social agenda.
Understanding the Cost of Dentures
Patients often assume that the cost of replacing missing teeth with dentures is out of their budget. In reality, our team at Waterbury Smiles strives to make pursuing a healthy, beautiful, and functional smile affordable. At your consultation, we will create a custom treatment plan, determine the price, and review all of the financial solutions available to you. In the meantime, you can read on to learn more about the price of dentures.
Factors That Affect the Cost of Dentures
In order to provide you with an estimate of the price, we need to determine:
- The number of teeth that need to be replaced
- If any preliminary treatments are needed, like gum disease therapy
- Which materials are ideal for creating your custom denture
- The type of denture that’s best for you (i.e., partial denture, full denture, implant denture)
Of course, we will review each of these factors as well as several others during your consultation at our Waterbury dental office. That way, you are fully a part of the process of rebuilding your smile!
Are Implant Dentures More Expensive?
Typically, implant dentures are more expensive than partial and full dentures upfront. In the long-run, however, there’s a good chance that implant dentures are a better choice for your wallet – they can last for 30+ years with proper care! That’s why we encourage our patients to consider more than just the upfront price when determining which tooth-replacement solution is best for them. As always, we will be here to answer any questions you have so making the decision is stress-free.
Does Dental Insurance Cover Dentures?
Since every dental insurance plan is unique, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to the cost. With that said, it’s possible that your provider will cover a portion of the cost – whether it’s the consultation, necessary preliminary procedures, or the denture itself. If you aren’t familiar with your benefits or are having a hard time understanding your coverage, you’re more than welcome to ask our team for assistance. We can provide you with an estimate of your out-of-pocket expenses as well as file the claims on your behalf!
Other Options for Making Dentures Affordable
If you don’t have dental insurance currently, then consider CareCredit. A trusted third-party financier, CareCredit offers patients several flexible payment plans. As a result, you don’t have to budget for paying for the entire cost of dentures upfront. Instead, you can break down your payments into smaller chunks that fit into your monthly budget. If you want to learn more about this financial solution before signing up, don’t hesitate to ask us! We can help you find the answers you’re looking for every step of the way.
Denture FAQs
What is the Average Age for Dentures?
There’s no age limit on rebuilding your smile, and people from 0 to 100 can potentially lose their teeth for various reasons. However, tooth loss is more common in senior adults than other populations. It’s believed that about 66% of people who are 40 to 64 years old have lost at least one tooth, compared to only 33% of those who are 20 to 39. Furthermore, sources estimate that anywhere from 11% to 17% of adults 65 or older have no remaining teeth.
As a result, a recent American Dental Association census found that nearly 57% of people aged 65 to 74 wear some form of dentures.
What Qualifies You for Dentures?
There are three types of dentures, so before our Waterbury Smiles team can recommend one over another, we must examine your mouth to get a better idea of what’s needed. Then, based on our findings, we’ll recommend an appropriate solution. Each options is outlined with additional information for your convenience, below:
- Partial dentures are ideal for those who have lost several, but not all, of their teeth to conditions like oral disease, malnutrition, or physical trauma.
- Full dentures are suggested for patients who have lost an entire arch or all of their teeth from common issues, including jawbone density loss, progressive periodontal problems, and other oral concerns.
- Implant dentures are the only option that can prevent additional jawbone degeneration, but you must have a strong enough foundation to support them. Sometimes, an additional bone graft is needed to bulk up your jaw to proceed.
Can I Sleep with My Dentures In?
Many patients grow weary of removing their prosthetics at night just to reinsert them in the morning and wonder whether they can sleep with them in. While this may be acceptable occasionally, it can potentially damage your dental health and should be avoided. Your restoration presses against your gums all day long, restricting their circulation. If your body is unable to deliver essential nutrients and bacteria-fighting cells to your mouth, you’re more likely to develop gum disease or other issues.
Instead, it’s best to leave your teeth to soak in a glass of water or special cleaning solution overnight. This ensures they remain moist to retain their shape while killing off up to 99% of germs that contribute to plaque and bad breath.
Does Getting Dentures Hurt?
Getting fitted with dentures is a common procedure and isn’t considered painful. However, if you need to have teeth extracted for your restoration to fit correctly, it’s normal to have some associated aches and inflammation for a week or so. Typically, these fade after 5 days and can be addressed with over-the-counter medications like Tylenol or ibuprofen.
It’s also normal to experience an adjustment period when your dentures are new. It can take up to a month for your gums, tongue, and other tissues in your mouth to adjust to your new teeth. You might develop sensitivity or raw spots until you’ve become more desensitized to them. If you have lasting or persistent discomfort, please contact us right away. We may need to check the lining to ensure they still fit correctly.