S. John Salivonchik D.M.D., P.C.
Request An AppointmentDentures – Coplay, PA
Restore your smile’s appearance and function with dentures
If you’re missing some or all of your natural teeth, it can be difficult to chew and speak properly. Worse yet, those gaps in your smile can take their toll on your self-esteem, causing you to withdraw socially and miss out on important connections. Dentures can replace those lost teeth, providing you with a fully functional smile that allows you to once again enjoy a variety of healthy foods, and giving you the confidence to participate in life again!
Why Choose S. John Salivonchik DMD, PC For Dentures?
- Dental insurance accepted and financing options available
- High-quality, lasting prosthetics
- Patient satisfaction guaranteed
Who Is a Good Candidate for Dentures?
Missing teeth doesn’t just alter your smile, it can have many negative effects on your mental and overall health, including:
- The inability to enjoy the foods you love
- Difficulty speaking properly
- Feeling embarrassed or insecure sharing your smile
If you are facing any of these concerns, you could be an excellent candidate for dentures.
For patients who are not missing all of the teeth along an arch, you may be better suited to another treatment. Dr. Salivonchik can discuss these options with you at your denture consultation.
If your gums are not in good health, you may not be a good candidate for dentures. In this case, Dr. Salivonchik may be able to provide you with a treatment plan to get your mouth healthy enough to support them in the future.
Types of Dentures
It is difficult to know what type of dentures are best for you before you are seen by Dr. Salivonchik. At your consultation appointment, he will go over your options and explain the pros and cons of each prosthetic. From there, he will develop a treatment plan for you that includes the next steps and your total cost. Here are some options that he may recommend for you.
Partial Dentures
Having large gaps between your teeth can make eating and speaking difficult. It can also cause embarrassment when you open your mouth. Partial dentures close those gaps while still allowing you to keep your remaining natural teeth and are comprised of a discreet metal clasp and a gum-colored base that blend effortlessly into your smile.
Full Dentures
Full dentures replace an entire arch of teeth. They stay in place by utilizing natural suction to stay firmly on your arches. These prosthetics are customized to fit your mouth perfectly, so you always have a secure, comfortable fit and no need for adhesives.
Implant Dentures
Implant dentures combine the comfort of dentures with the permanent fit of dental implants. These are a great solution for patients who are dissatisfied with traditional dentures.
Implant dentures are secured to your arch via several permanent dental implants. This means there is no need to worry about them slipping or falling out when you are eating or speaking. They still look just as natural as your real teeth, however unlike individual dental implants, they require fewer posts, so they are less invasive. They can often be more affordable than multiple dental implants, and because you can brush and floss them like your natural teeth, they’re much easier to clean and maintain than traditional dentures.
The Benefits of Dentures
While dentures are an older solution to tooth loss, they’re still a great and effective one. Patients who get them will enjoy many perks and significantly boost their quality of life. Otherwise, the devices wouldn’t now stand as the most time-tested fix for missing teeth. As for the specific benefits of dentures, our practice will gladly share them with you. Simply keep reading to learn more, or call us for the details you need.
Psychological Benefits
Tooth loss often causes a mental health decline, prompting issues like low self-esteem and major depression over time. That much is natural – who wouldn’t feel upset about the gaps in their grin? Still, modern dentures can help you avoid these low moods. They’d quickly fill your mouth’s unwanted spaces, giving you back the complete smile you deserve. You’d then feel more assured of your looks, speech, eating ability, etc.
Clearer Enunciation
Your ability to enunciate depends on teeth, so losing any will make speech hard for you. Even missing a mere few can lead to slurred speech, severe lisps, and more. Having said that, quality dentures are here to address this particular matter. With support from their artificial teeth, your tongue would be able to enunciate words very clearly. Just note that you’d have to practice a bit first; speaking with dentures tends to take time.
Improves Nutrition
If you go too long without your teeth, your diet will inevitably suffer. Lacking a full smile means you won’t be able to chew many foods, resulting in large restrictions on your eating choices. Those limits on your meals will put you at risk of malnutrition and indigestion. That said, you can trust today’s dentures to get you out of this dental dilemma. Using them would let you chew more foods, ensuring you can eat a wider range of food and improve your nutritional health.
Preserves Oral Health
The truth is that your oral health suffers more as you endure tooth loss for more extended periods. The gaps in your smile will slowly tilt your remaining teeth, house harmful bacteria, and erode your jawbone. However, our practice’s dentures would protect your grin by filling its empty areas. The devices would reduce the tilting of teeth, the spread of nasty microbes, and the rate at which your jaw breaks down.
Expands Opportunities
For better or worse, a nice smile is often key to a good first impression. The result is that a gapped grin can cause you to lose great opportunities – romances, friendships, career success, etc. Luckily, dentures would help you avoid that outcome; they’d restore your smile enough to make good first impressions again. In other words, using these special restorations should give you access to many social opportunities you’d benefit from.
Dentures Aftercare
Congratulations on your beautiful new dentures! These replacement teeth are designed to transform the appearance and function of your smile. However, even if you have very few or no remaining natural teeth, it doesn’t mean you should stop visiting the dentist for your regular preventive exams. At these appointments, we will continue to monitor any existing teeth and your gum tissue. We’ll also keep an eye out for any abnormalities that could indicate oral cancer. That’s because when you wear dentures, it can be very difficult to notice changes in your mouth on your own, and early detection from a dentist is often the key to making a full recovery.
Removable Dentures
Remove After Eating
After each meal, be sure to remove and rinse off your dentures. This will help prevent them from accumulating buildup of food debris and plaque.
Never use hot water to clean your dentures, as this can warp the denture material and cause them to stop fitting properly.
Clean Your Restoration
Always completely remove your dentures to clean them. Using a soft-bristled toothbrush and a small amount of unscented hand soap, mild dish soap, or denture cleanser, gently brush the entire prosthetic. Never use regular toothpaste, as dentures aren’t made to stand up to abrasive products.
If you won’t be wearing your prosthetics again right away, carefully submerge them in a container of water or denture cleansing solution so they don’t dry out or lose their shape when they’re not in your mouth.
Always rinse your dentures thoroughly before returning them to your mouth, as these cleansers were not meant for consumption.
Keep Your Dentures Safe
When cleaning your dentures, be sure to place a towel underneath them in case you accidentally drop them. This will reduce the likelihood of them breaking on impact.
Always keep your dentures out of the reach of small children and pets.
Remove When You Sleep
Each night before you go to bed, be sure to remove your dentures. Wearing them restricts the circulation in your gums, which can cause soft-tissue irritation. Sleeping with dentures in has also been associated with a higher risk of pneumonia and higher levels of gum and tongue plaque.
Store your dentures in denture soaking solution or water overnight. If you allow them to dry out, they could permanently lose their shape.
Notice Changes
Be on the lookout for any changes in your oral health so you can bring them up with Dr. Salivonchik. This includes things like mouth sores, gum irritation, or any signs of infection.
Should your denture become damaged, never attempt to repair it yourself, as you could accidentally damage them further. Instead, give us a call and we’ll provide you with next steps.
If your dentures are shifting, clicking, or showing any other signs of improper fit, let Dr. Salivonchik know, as they may need to be relined or replaced.
