As of 2019, approximately 41 million Americans are wearing dentures. Prosthetic tooth replacement has been around since 2500 BC, when people, from what’s now known as Mexico, used wolf teeth. Dentures have come a long way since then, and today, they can be customized to look just like your original teeth.
At Skyview Dentistry in Charlotte, North Carolina, our team of professional dentists can create a brand new smile for you that restores your ability to speak and chew naturally. We map out your mouth to create comfortable partial or full dentures for one or both arches of teeth to restore your smile.
The first modern dentures
Dentures made of vulcanite (a processed rubber) with porcelain teeth were popular starting in the early 1800s. By the mid-1900s, acrylic resins were the base of choice for complete dentures, and porcelain was being refined to look more natural. Acrylic and porcelain are still used in dentures today.
Partial dentures vs. full dentures
Partial dentures are also called bridges, and they cover just a section of your mouth where you’ve lost teeth. A partial denture can fill in for several teeth missing in a row or for teeth missing in patches. These prosthetics can be connected to adjacent teeth or made as removable plates.
While a partial denture can help you maintain a smile that has a few teeth missing, the empty sockets begin to deepen as you lose bone in the jaw over time. This can cause the teeth on each side of a gap to tilt and shift — eventually, they can loosen and fall out. This means your partial dentures should be revised and broadened at intervals to take into account this progression of tooth loss.
Full dentures replace an entire arch of teeth in the upper or lower jaw. They’re usually held in your mouth by denture adhesive. Full dentures generally have to be revised or replaced about every five years as your mouth changes and they become worn so they work properly and you avoid getting sores on your gums or inside your cheeks.
Modern denture advantages
Modern dentures are comfortable, natural-looking, and easy to wear and clean. If your parents or grandparents had dentures, you may remember them constantly fiddling with their teeth, or having trouble eating certain foods. At Skyview Dentistry, we focus on adopting the latest technology available when it comes to denture fitting and fabrication, ensuring a comfortable fit and a natural experience when you talk, smile, and eat.
If you’re missing one or more teeth and want to talk to a dentist about dentures, call our office at 704-632-7700 or book a consultation online using our convenient scheduling tool.