Dentures – Virginia Beach, VA
Quickly Regain Your Complete, Confident Smile
Missing some or all your teeth impacts a lot more than just the appearance of your smile. Tooth loss is a serious issue that can take a huge bite out of your quality of life. At Esparza Family Dentistry, we want to help you quickly regain your complete, confident smile with dentures in Virginia Beach! These classic restorations can help you get back to chewing, speaking, and smiling confidently, and thanks to modern dental technology and materials, they’re now more lifelike and comfortable than ever! Read on to learn more about dentures and give us a call today to schedule your consultation!
Types of Dentures
All of our dentures are made of natural-looking materials like porcelain and gum-colored acrylic for durable and beautiful results. Depending on the extent of your tooth loss and your personal preferences, you may benefit from:
Partials
Partial dentures (or partials) are a great choice for patients who are missing several teeth. Much like a puzzle piece, partials fit between and around your remaining healthy teeth. Small, discreet brackets wrap around your natural tooth structure to secure your new pearly whites.
Full Dentures
If you’re missing your entire top or bottom row of teeth (or both), full dentures can help. These replacement teeth are set into a gum-colored base that’s precisely crafted for your unique smile. This close fit creates a strong natural suction that holds the denture firmly in place.
All-On-4 Implant Dentures
Alternatively, you can anchor your denture directly into your jawbone with dental implants. This unique placement takes more time, but provide unmatched function, comfort, and longevity. With All-on-4 implant dentures, you can replace an entire arch of missing teeth with just four strategically placed dental implants, often in a single day!
Who’s a Good Candidate for Dentures?
Dentures are a great option for those suffering moderate to severe tooth loss. To be considered a good candidate, you’ll need to be in good oral health first. Once we’ve addressed any tooth decay, gum disease, or teeth that need to be extracted, we can move on to fitting you with dentures.
On the other hand, All-on-4 implant dentures require that you also be in good health and have adequate jawbone density. During your consultation, we’ll review your medical history and inspect your smile. Then, we’ll review all your options in detail, as well as our recommendation, before helping you choose the best tooth replacement option for you.
How Dentures Are Made
The fabrication process for dentures is fascinating and involves several detailed steps to ensure they fit well and function effectively. From the initial consultation to the final fitting, each stage is important to achieving dentures that look natural and meet all your needs. If you’re curious about what that process looks like at Esparza Family Dentistry, continue reading below. You’ll find out what dentures are made of and how we ensure satisfaction with your restored smile.
What Are Dentures Made Of?
Dentures are typically made from a combination of materials. The base is usually crafted from acrylic resin, which is light, comfortable, and mimics the appearance of natural gum tissue. The teeth themselves are made from either dental-grade resin or porcelain. These are the most popular mediums, chosen for their durability and natural look. Each denture is carefully crafted from the highest-quality materials to ensure that the results are strong, comfortable, and aesthetically pleasing.
The Denture Creation Process
Creating dentures is a long process spread over eight to twelve weeks and two or more appointments. It begins with an initial consultation, where Dr. Esparza will give you an exam and take detailed impressions of your mouth.
These impressions are sent to a partnered dental lab where they are used to create a precise model of your teeth and gums. Next, a wax model is made and shipped back to us, allowing you to try on a prototype version of your dentures to see if they’re comfortable and fit well.
Once the fit is confirmed, the wax model is sent back, and your final dentures are fabricated. The base is shaped and colored to match your natural gum tissue, while the teeth are arranged to replicate the look of your natural smile.
The dentures are then polished with pumice to enhance their appearance and make sure they’re smooth. Afterward, we will schedule a final fitting to ensure that your new prosthetics look, feel, and function as they should. If there are no adjustments to be made, you’ll go home with your new smile right away!
Adjusting to Your New Dentures
Adjusting to new dentures can take some time as your mouth gets used to the presence of your new appliance. Initially, you may experience minor discomfort or difficulty speaking and eating. However, over time, these issues should diminish as you become more accustomed to your prosthetics, allowing you to enjoy all their great benefits.
If you want to speed the process along, be sure to practice speaking aloud, talking with loved ones, and giving your mouth a break when it needs it. Rest is just as important as action when it comes to the denture adjustment process!
The Benefits of Dentures
Without question, dentures work pretty well as tooth replacements. They’ll fully restore your smile when properly made and placed! That way, they help you solve the everyday challenges of tooth loss. Still, the benefits of dentures are more varied than many expect. These prosthetics can even raise your overall quality of life. If you want the details, we at Esparza Family Dentistry can explain. Just keep reading or call our office for details.
Psychological Benefits
As you’d expect, tooth loss is hard to bear. Lacking a full and pretty smile can quickly sour your mood. Over time, the issue may make you anxious or insecure. You’d then start feeling sad and withdrawn from others. At worst, you might suffer from clinical depression.
Of course, dentures help you avoid this scenario. Wearing them restores your smile and thus your confidence as well. After all, a denture’s teeth will blend with your smile. That means they’ll help you feel reassured in social settings.
Clearer Enunciation
If you lose teeth, you’ll find it hard to speak. Your tongue relies on your pearly whites to enunciate words. So, a toothless grin can make clear speech nearly impossible. Any attempt at talking would lead to lisps, slurred words, and other mispronunciations.
Luckily, dentures make clear speech possible. Their artificial teeth will let your tongue enunciate words. However, you’d need to undergo a brief adjustment period first. Talking with dentures is a skill that takes time and practice.
Improves Nutrition
In reality, tooth loss can lead to a poor diet. Having fewer teeth means you can’t chew as many tough foods. As such, you may have to exclude healthy items from your meals. Your risk of malnutrition and indigestion would then increase.
All that said, dentures would fix this problem. They’re durable enough to help you chew various tough foods. As they do so, they’d expand your meal choices and boost your nutritional health.
Preserves Oral Health
While losing teeth harms your looks, it does even more damage to your oral health. The resulting “smile gaps” serve as breeding grounds for harmful bacteria. In other words, they make oral issues like tooth decay and gum disease likely. Worse yet, these gaps can cause your remaining teeth to tilt and fall out.
In contrast, dentures would preserve your oral health. They’d fill your smile gaps to reduce the presence of bad microbes. At the same time, removing the spaces will keep your other teeth from tilting or falling.
Expands Opportunities
Ultimately, a nice smile is vital to good first impressions. Showing off pretty teeth puts others at ease and inspires positive feelings. Therefore, you can trust a gorgeous grin to provide lucky breaks. It’ll help your peers think better of you, leading to fun and exciting opportunities.
Fortunately, dentures can provide a gorgeous grin. Their features ensure your smile will look good and inviting. From there, you might be offered friendships, romance, work promotions, or more.
Dentures FAQs
If you’ve suffered significant tooth loss, dentures in Virginia Beach are an effective, convenient option to rehabilitate your smile. Although you’re excited to replace your missing teeth, we know you have a few concerns before you’re ready to commit to them. Dr. Esparza will explain everything during your initial consultation. To help ease your apprehensions, here are the answers to a few of the most common questions patients ask us about dentures.
Why should I choose Esparza Family Dentistry for my dentures?
Dr. Esparza earned her dental degree from the University of Maryland Dental School in Baltimore. She has over 20 years of experience helping her patients achieve their best smiles possible. She remains current with the latest advancements in dentistry to treat complex issues, like tooth loss. She’ll rebuild your smile using a solution that closely mimics your natural teeth.
Should I sleep in my dentures?
Getting caught without your dentures in your mouth can be embarrassing, so you might want to sleep in them; however, Dr. Esparza advises against it. Your gums need time to rest after supporting your dentures throughout the day. It’s best to remove them at night to give your gums a break. When they aren’t in your mouth, store them in a denture cleaning solution or room temperature water to prevent them from drying out. Your dentures must be kept moist or they can warp, which may cause them to fit poorly.
How much do dentures cost?
There isn’t a set fee for dentures because their price is based on several factors, like the number of teeth you’re replacing and your dental insurance. Every policy differs, but many dental plans can be used to help offset the cost of your new smile. A member of our team will work on your behalf with your insurance carrier to lower the amount you need to pay. If there’s any remaining balance, we’ll discuss your payment options to keep your dentures within your budget, like using third-party financing.
What do I do if my dentures are slipping?
Try a couple of different adhesives to see if you can get your dentures to fit snuggly. If that doesn’t solve the problem, it’s time to contact our office. Over time, your gum tissues and jawbone will change shape, causing your dentures to slip. If the issue isn’t resolved, it can cause irritation, which can lead to sores and infection. Dr. Esparza can reline your dentures to improve their fit; however, if they are over 7 years old, they may need to be replaced. If you’re interested in a permanent solution that eliminates slipping and irritation, ask Dr. Esparza about the benefits of supporting your denture with dental implants.
How can I get started?
If you’re ready to enjoy a complete, beautiful smile again, contact our office today to schedule your consultation. Dr. Esparza will create a customized treatment plan to replace your missing teeth using a denture that closely replicates your natural smile.