During your last visit to the dentist, you got some disturbing news, to say the least. It won’t be long before you lose most of your teeth. If you don’t think of a replacement option soon, your oral health will suffer.
When most people think of dentures, they think of the ones that their grandpa had. The removable dentures that you have to take out and put in a glass of water each night.
We’re here to tell you that you have more options than that. You can get fixed dentures that are surgically inserted.
Both options have their merits, so it can be hard to choose. We can help you out. Check out this guide to learn how to maintain your smile into your golden years.
Why Dentures?
Before we talk about removable and fixed dentures, let’s discuss why someone might need them in the first place. There are a lot of reasons for dentures that aren’t always boiled down in tooth loss.
While missing teeth is the main reason why people get dentures, tooth decay is another common cause. Most of the time, decay results in cavities that can be fixed with a filling, but if the problem is left unchecked for too long, there might be no way to salvage your smile.
Some people have to get dentures due to gum disease. The build-up of plaque and bacteria can cause the teeth to pull away from the gums.
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Removable Dentures
Removable dentures are the most well-known. You go into the dental office, and the practitioner makes a mold to meet the shape of your mouth. The result is a retainer with fake gums and teeth that fit right over your natural gums.
These dentures can’t adhere themselves to your mouth on their own. You’ll have to use some kind of adhesive to get them to stay in place.
Fixed Dentures
Unlike removable dentures, the fixed ones don’t come out once they’re put in place. Well, the dentures can come out, but not without the assistance of a dental practitioner.
The dentist will adhere the dentures to certain points in your jawbone using a titanium attachment. Once they’re inserted, your jawbone will naturally begin to conform around the dentures and hold them in place.
The results aren’t much different than your normal teeth. You can eat whatever you want with your fixed dentures and take care of them with regular brushing.
Impact on Jawbone Structure
Without teeth, your jawbone will slowly begin to deteriorate. One of the benefits of fixed dentures is that they replace the tooth roots that were once in place.
These roots performed an important function when they were there. Not only did they keep the tooth anchored into your mouth, but stimulated the jawbone, which allowed for new bone growth.
Removable dentures only replace the crown of your teeth. They don’t have any method of stimulating the jawbone as fixed dentures do. So, if you want to keep your oral structure intact, you may want to go with the fixed option.
Comfort Levels
Even though fixed dentures involve surgery, they’re still more comfortable than the removable ones. The removable dentures may fight tightly to your gums at first, but as the bone in your jaw deteriorates, this will change.
After a while, your dentures will no longer fit. They’ll begin to shift around your mouth and rub against your gums. This causes friction that can only be described as painful.
It makes it hard to eat the things that you once did because it hurts your gums too much. You’ll have to stick to a diet of soft foods.
The fit of fixed dentures won’t change as time goes on. Your gums will be a little sore after the surgery is done, but once that’s over, you’ll be able to go back to eating the things you love without experiencing any kind of pain.
Convenience and Maintenance
When it comes to weighing fixed vs. removable dentures, we’ll tell you that the fixed ones are a lot more convenient to deal with. You don’t have to take them out and clean them. You can brush them the same way you did your natural teeth.
There’s no sticky adhesive to fuss around with. Speaking of adhesive, it doesn’t always keep removable dentures in. Sometimes they slip and fall out anyway.
It can be more than a little bit embarrassing. It can also be difficult to eat hard foods with removable dentures, which puts you on a pretty limiting diet.
Aesthetics
There’s no contest. Fixed dentures are much better in terms of aesthetics. They mimic the look of your natural teeth, and as long as you take care of them, they’ll stay that way.
Since they keep your jawbone stabilized, you don’t have to worry about deterioration affecting your appearance as you get older.
Surgery and Cost
One of the main benefits of removable dentures is the fact that they don’t involve surgery, and they’re much cheaper than fixed dentures.
Due to the fact that fixed dentures involve surgery, there’s always a risk for infection and complications. This shouldn’t occur as long as you maintain a normal oral hygiene routine, but some people don’t like to chance it.
Choosing the Right Dentures for Your Needs
Hearing that you need dentures can feel like the end of the world. If you don’t hurry and find a replacement for your natural teeth, it could cause permanent damage to your jawbone
There’s a lot to think about when choosing between fixed and removable dentures. They both have their own merits to some degree.
We hope this guide has made your decision a little easier. If you’re looking for more ways to take care of your pearly whites, visit the Health section of our blog.
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