Dont rush your brush
An egg timer on your bathroom counter should help you keep track of the 2 minutes that you need to take to properly clean your teeth.
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IMPLANTS DENTURES
IMPLANTS:
Dental implants are used to replace missing teeth. At this point they are the closest thing we can get to a natural tooth. The implant consists of a titanium implant which is placed in the jaw bone and is accepted and attaches to the bone. This allows for a good base to support replacement teeth in the form of an abutment and individual crowns, bridges with multiple implants or dentures supported by bars. The implants will prevent the replacement teeth from shifting or slipping while talking or eating. In general they give the patient a higher degree of comfort and confidence that their replacement teeth will function and feel much more like their natural teeth then a denture or a bridge. They act independently of the adjacent teeth so you clean them the same as your natural teeth, they are easier to clean then a bridge which will require a floss-threader. Dentures you must remove every time food is eaten. You must clean the denture and all of your teeth. One of the advantages of implants is that the implant helps to maintain the bone at the level it is at the day the implant is placed. In general when you remove a tooth the bone will start to shrink and your jaw will become smaller in that area.
Candidates for implants need to have healthy gums and adequate healthy bone to place the implant. If not the area can have a ridge augmentation to prepare the site for the implant. The first step would be to see the surgeon and have the site assessed. He will take the appropriate radiographs and inform you if any additional surgeries would be required to ready the site. Once you have been informed of the surgeons' assessment a date would be set for the preparatory surgery or the implant surgery. Once completed the implant surgery would take place. At this time the surgeon would open the gum at the implant site, drill a hole to receive an implant in the jaw bone and the suture the wound to allow healing and integration of the implant into the bone for 3 - 6 months. After healing the healing abutment is removed and the general dentist takes an impression to make the crown. During the healing phase a small denture is worn for any front teeth that are missing About 7-10 days later the final abutment and crown are placed .
Although implants act and feel like natural teeth they are not as strong as natural teeth and need meticulous attention with brushing and flossing or they will fail.
Certain chronic diseases like diabetes, osteoporosis and chronic sinusitis ,long term medications and habits such as smoking, poor hygiene and grinding your teeth may affect the stability of the implants over time.
Long term studies in Europe has shown implants to be stable for over 20 years. This makes implants the best replacement of lost teeth.
DENTURES:
Dentures are made to replace missing teeth. They can replace one tooth or all of your teeth Partial dentures are usually made of a cast metal frame work with acrylic saddles to mount plastic teeth onto. Complete dentures are made entirely of acrylic and plastic teeth. Complete dentures rely on a good fit to the soft tissues to create a suction that holds them in place. Partial dentures rely on metal cast clasps that engage undercuts on the remaining teeth to hold the frame work in place but allow enough movement so the abutment teeth are not torqued. In other words the metal wires grab the remaining teeth to hold them in place but are loose enough to allow the denture to rotate on the teeth to relieve stress on those teeth. So with dentures you rely on the acrylic lying on the soft tissues to provide support when we bite or chew. Dentures have movement even with a perfect fit. If you want to simulate your natural teeth you would choose an implant, or not quite as good, a bridge. These are fixed in your mouth and are not removable.
DENTURE CARE : Keep your denture and your remaining teeth clean. Remove your denture after everything you eat. Brush your remaining teeth and your dentures partial or full. Inspect both your teeth and your dentures to ensure that you have removed all of the plaque on both before inserting your dentures back into your mouth. If you do not clean properly the remaining plaque will cause tooth decay and gum disease. This will not happen if you properly clean the plaque.
Remove your dentures every night and massage the tissues that the denture rests on. Gently massage the areas to stimulate the tissue and keep it healthy.
See your dentist every 6 months to maintain your remaining teeth and tissues. Some times the remaining bone will shrink with time and the dentures will become loose. They can be refitted with a reline.
If the lower denture is fitting well but is still tender, usually when there is major bone loss, you can use a soft liner to cushion the area supporting the denture.
Dentures can not only restore missing teeth but can restore the fullness of sunken lips or a shortened face height. This will give a more youthful appearance and in some cases can alleviate jaw discomfort.
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