Immediate Dentures and Healing
After your teeth are extracted, you have the option of either being without teeth or having an immediate denture. For most people, the choice of an immediate denture seems best. The immediate denture helps control bleeding from your gums, and some believe that it leads to better healing.
Immediate dentures do have some other benefits. Of course, it allows you to always have a mouthful of teeth, even after the extraction. It will also help you in getting adjusted to living with dentures. In particular, speaking with dentures can take a while to learn, so it’s good to get started early, not learn how to speak without teeth, then have to unlearn that technique to learn speaking with dentures.
Immediate dentures do have some problems, though. They are usually made as an approximation of your gums based on an impression that is taken when you still have your teeth in. Needless to say, the fit usually leaves something to be desired, and it may have to be adjusted several times to get it right. And even once your dentures have been fitted, they will likely have to be refitted again soon, as you will lose a significant amount of bone during the recovery period, typically 4-6 months. Over this time, your gums will also be toughening up to bear the weight of your dentures so that at the end you can get your permanent dentures.
Healing with Dental Implants
With dental implants, the healing process takes about the same amount of time, 4-6 months in most cases. Only instead of toughening up your gums by subjecting them to painful pressure, your bones will be healing around the dental implants.
You will also have temporary dentures, but with a difference. They can fit better because they can be fitted to the implants. The implants themselves are fitted to your jawbone using detailed imaging of the bones with CT scans, which constructs a 3D model of your jawbone.
At the end of the healing process, you can get your permanent denture, too, only this one will fit over your fully secure dental implants. It will be strong enough to let you enjoy most foods, and it will be firmly anchored so you never need to worry about it coming loose.
What Dentures Do You Want 6 Months from Now?
If you are facing the extraction of your teeth, you will get dentures, and the process of healing and recovery may take up to six months, no matter what. If you choose traditional dentures, then six months from now you will have dentures that are loose and growing looser as your body continues to remove jawbone. But if you choose implant dentures, you will, at the end of those six months, have completely secure teeth that are attractive, functional, and comfortable. Your jaw will be stabilized and your denture can potentially last a lifetime–certainly the implants are likely to.
If you want to talk to a dentist about getting rejuvenating implant dentures, please contact a local Denture Fountain of Youth® dentist today.
