Full dentures

Full denture prosthesis is a treatment for complete edentulism using special oral apparatus that contain false teeth to replace lost natural teeth, and which rehabilitate the bone structures that become atrophied over time after losing teeth.
As a result, they do not only help with chewing, but also with speaking and in improving the physical appearance of patients who have lost all their teeth.

Limitations of full dentures

• As they don´t have a stable attachment, certain mobility is experienced when eating, especially in the case of the lower one, easily displaced by the tongue even when speaking, due to the fact that the suction effect is not achieved as the one that the palate does provide in the case of the superior. Thus, when biting on one side, these prostheses tend to rise from the other, so the patient must learn to chew with both sides at once.
• Derived from this instability, an important aesthetic limitation arises: the antero-superior teeth can not always cover the upper 1/3 of the anterior-inferior teeth, as normally occurs in the natural dentition, but the edges, in these situations, have to be at the same height as the trituring face of the rest of the teeth; therefore, when there are remaining anterior-inferior natural teeth, the teeth of the upper prosthesis are usually shorter than the original teeth and, when they are hidden under the lip, the patient tends to have an older appearance than when having natural teeth.
• Over time, the bone on which the prosthesis rests changes its shape, so that these will loosen producing discomfort or ulcerations that require adaptation by the dentist, and / or replacement, after a variable time, by other new.

Adaptation and adjustment to the full dentures

• You will notice a feeling of occupation or foreign body, which usually disappears in a few weeks. This stimulates the production of saliva, a situation that will be gradually normalized.
• You will experience a decrease in the sense of taste, which will recover after a few weeks.
• It will change the diction, and there may be problems when it comes to pronouncing some sounds. You will most likely need a training to learn how to vocalize certain words, which is usually achieved in a few weeks.
• It is likely to bite the inside of the cheeks and tongue, as it is very normal to tend to introduce them in spaces where teeth are missing, but in a short time you will learn to avoid it.
• Most likely you will notice some discomfort in the areas where the prosthesis is supported, especially at the height of the edges. They tend to give in after four or five days; If it was not like that, or you get wounds, you should go to the clinic to remedy it.
• At the beginning, almost certainly, the prosthesis will move a lot especially when eating. You must learn to chew simultaneously from both sides, and not just one as you would with natural teeth. With this, and with the successive adjustments of the occlusion of the teeth that we will perform in the consultation if they are considered necessary, you will experience improvement. On the contrary, the inferior prosthesis, except in rare exceptions, will never be attached satisfactorily.