Dentures are removable prosthetic appliances that can replace missing teeth and help restore your smile.  If you have lost some or all of your teeth due to periodontal disease, tooth decay, or traumatic injury, replacement with dentures will benefit both your appearance and your health.  Two things people often take for granted - eating and speaking - become much more difficult without teeth.  Dentures will greatly improve your ability to do both, and they may even give you a better-looking smile than you ever had before.

 

The single most important key to being happy with your denture is knowing what to expect.  If you were to lose your leg and have it replaced with an artificial one, you would not expect to go for a run the next day.  You would have to first learn how to walk again, then jog, and one day you may work up to a full run.  New dentures (even if they are replacing old ones) require an adjustment phase until you become accustomed to them.  Even a good-fitting denture will only provide 25% of the chewing efficiency you once had with your natural teeth.  They will likely feel bulky and cause gum irritation or soreness at first, but once your mouth becomes accustomed to them these problems should subside.  Follow-up appointments with Dr. Reno will be a normal part of the process to get the fit just right.

 

One amazing advancement in the field of dentistry in recent years is the use of dental implants.  They are often used to replace a single missing tooth, but they can also be used as a foundation in your mouth onto which a denture can become much more tightly fastened.  This small difference can greatly improve your quality of life wearing dentures.