Dentures
There are 3 types of full dentures. They are standard, immediate, and implant retained dentures.
Standard dentures are made for people who are already missing all their teeth. It generally takes 4 appointments to make a set of standard dentures. The dentures are fabricated out of acrylic.
Immediate dentures are actually made before the natural teeth are extracted. The
patient walks into the office with natural teeth and walks out with false
teeth. The teeth are extracted and a prefabricated denture is inserted
directly over the sockets. The denture acts like a band aid and reduces
bleeding.
Implant retained dentures have special significance for people who cannot wear
lower dentures. As an edentulous (toothless) person ages and the bone continues
to resorb away the lower ridge frequently disappears entirely. Thus there
is no vertical bone underlying the gums to stabilize a lower denture. These
people frequently cannot wear a lower denture at all. The addition of
two implants in the front of the lower jaw can make it possible to retain a
lower denture which would otherwise be impossible for the patient to tolerate.