Saturday, February 7, 2009

Getting New Dentures!


Complete dentures are used to replace missing teeth for people with no remaining teeth. Dentures may also be used for people who have lost several teeth. In this case, the appliance is called a partial denture or an overdenture.
Tooth loss may result from periodontal disease, tooth decay, or traumatic injury. It is very important to replace missing teeth. The ill effects of not doing so can be a shift in remaining teeth, an inability to bite and chew properly, as well as a sagging facial appearance, which makes one appear older than they are.
The beauty of dentures today is that they are designed to be comfortable and functional. They are very similar in appearance to natural teeth, and can improve a smile or facial appearance


Dentures are a set of replacement teeth for any teeth that are missing. There are partial dentures, which take the place of only a few teeth and prevent the others from changing position. If all the teeth are gone, the person would need complete dentures, which replace every tooth in the mouth.
Both types of dentures are removable and usually made of metal and acrylic resin (say: uh-krih-lik reh-zun), a plastic-like material that is molded to fit the exact shape of a person's mouth. Suction helps hold the dentures in place, so they stick to the surface of a person's gums.
Like wearing braces or a retainer, dentures can cause soreness at first and take some time to get adjusted to. Also like
braces or retainers, dentures need special care. They should be brushed daily with a special denture brush and cleanser and soaked in denture solution when not in the mouth.
Dentures are important for older folks because, without teeth, it's hard to smile, talk, and eat properly. But it can be a little weird if you see someone take out his or her dentures. It can also be strange to see someone, like a grandparent, without dentures in because he or she won't have any teeth. Try not to make fun of the person because this could cause hurt feelings.



Around 700BC, Etruscans, in northern Italy, made dentures out of human or other animal teeth. These deteriorated quickly but, being easy to produce, were popular until mid 19th century
The first
European sets of dentures date from the 15th century and most probably existed before that time. They were carved from bone or ivory, or made up of teeth sourced from graveyards, the recent dead or living donors who exchanged their teeth for profit. These dentures were uncomfortable, attached visibly to a base supported by any remaining teeth with a thread of metal or silk. The false teeth were often made with ivory from the hippopotamus or walrus, and usually rotted after extended use.
London's Peter de la Roche is believed to be one of the first 'Operators for the Teeth', men who fashioned themselves as specialists in dental work. Often these men were professional goldsmiths, ivory turners or students of barber-surgeons. The first porcelain dentures were made around 1770 by Alexis Duchâteau. In 1791 the first British patent was granted to Nicholas Dubois De Chemant, previously assistant to Duchateau, for "De Chemant's Specification", "a composition for the purpose of making of artificial teeth either single double or in rows or in complete sets and also springs for fastening or affixing the same in a more easy and effectual manner than any hitherto discovered which said teeth may be made of any shade or colour, which they will retain for any length of time and will consequently more perfectly resemble the natural teeth." He began selling his wares in 1792 with most of his porcelain paste supplied by Wedgwood. Single teeth in porcelain were made since 1808.
In London in 1820,
Claudius Ash, a goldsmith by trade, began manufacturing high-quality porcelain dentures mounted on 18-carat gold plates. Later dentures were made of Vulcanite from the 1850s on, a form of hardened rubber (Claudius Ash’s company was the leading European manufacturer of dental Vulcanite) into which porcelain teeth were set, and then, in the 20th century, acrylic resin and other plastics. In Britain in 1968 79% of those aged 65-74 had no natural teeth, by 1998 this proportion had fallen to 36%.



Problems with dentures include the fact that patients are not used to having something in their mouth that is not food. The brain senses this appliance as "food" and sends messages to the salivary glands to produce more saliva and to secrete it at a higher rate. New dentures will also be the inevitable cause of sore spots as they rub and press on the mucosa (denture bearing soft tissue). A few denture adjustments for the weeks following insertion of the dentures can take care of this issue. Gagging is another problem encountered by some patients. At times, this may be due to a denture that is too loose fitting, too thick or extended too far posteriorly onto the soft palate. At times, gagging may also be attributed to psychological denial of the denture. (Psychological gagging is the most difficult to treat since it is out of the dentist's control. In such cases, an implant supported palateless denture may have to be constructed or a hypnotist may need to be consulted). Sometimes there could be a gingivitis under the full dentures, which is caused by accumulation of dental plaque.
Another problem with dentures is keeping them in place. There are three rules governing the existence of removable oral appliances: support, stability and retention
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