DENTURES

Natural-looking replacements for your teeth

If you’re missing multiple teeth, or you have teeth that are badly decayed and need to be removed, dentures are one of the options for filling the gap and restoring your smile.

Modern dentures look and feel more like natural teeth than the false teeth of the past. At Sydney Park Dental, we offer a choice of acrylic or cobalt chrome dentures that can be colour-matched to your natural teeth shade.

If you want to know more about dentures, book a consultation with our dentists in Erskineville today. We’ll give you all the information you need about dentures and other tooth replacement options so you can decide what’s right for you.

MAKE AN APPOINTMENT

Click Here or call us on (02) 8084 7170 to book an appointment at our Erskineville dental clinic. Our friendly team will respond to you within 1 business day.

Do I need dentures?

Missing teeth can affect your appearance and your ability to speak and eat normally, which can also have consequences for your health.

As well as leaving noticeable gaps in your smile, missing teeth can also cause your face to appear sunken or drooping. Dentures can restore your smile and support your facial muscles and other structures to help you maintain a more youthful appearance.

While they may be associated with seniors, dentures are suitable for people of all ages. Anyone who’s lost multiple teeth to tooth decay, gum disease or an injury can replace them with removable dentures. You can also discuss other options with your dentist, such as a dental bridge.

What are the different types of dentures?

Dentures could be an option if you need to replace several teeth or all the teeth in your mouth. At Sydney Park Dental, we offer full dentures and partial dentures.

Full dentures

These complete sets of dentures can replace all the teeth in the upper or lower jaw. They may be suitable if you’ve already lost all your teeth or you only have a few natural teeth remaining, which will need to be removed first.

Full dentures are removable, but they can be secured in place on the roof of your mouth or behind your lower teeth by suction.

Partial dentures

If you only need to replace a few teeth in your upper or lower jaw, partial dentures can be custom-made to fit in with your remaining teeth.

Partial dentures are also removable and made from the same materials as full dentures. They’re secured in the mouth by discreet attachments fitted over the neighbouring teeth.

How are dentures fitted?

We’ll give you a complete oral health assessment before starting your dentures treatment, to check that your gums (and teeth, in the case of partial dentures) are healthy enough to support dentures. This will involve x-rays. If you need to have any teeth extracted, this will delay your denture fitting, as your gum needs time to heal.

Next, we’ll take impressions of your mouth and work with you to design your custom dentures. You can select the preferred shade of your replacement teeth, or we’ll choose a colour that’s a close match for your natural teeth.

Once the design is complete, we’ll send it to an external dental laboratory where your dentures will be made. They will provide us with special trays to take another set of impressions with higher accuracy to finalise the design and construction of your dentures. We’ll also arrange a try-in session with the base of the dentures to assess the fit.

When your completed dentures have arrived, we’ll arrange the final appointment for them to be fitted and adjusted if necessary.

How long will it take to get used to my dentures?

It can take a few days or weeks for your mouth to adjust to your new dentures. After this time, you should feel comfortable eating and speaking as normal. We recommend wearing your dentures for only a few hours each day to start with, to help you get used to them.

We recommend that new denture wearers eat soft foods at first, cut into bite-size pieces, to help you get used to the feeling of chewing. When you’re used to how it feels, you should be able to enjoy your favourite foods as normal. You should still be careful when eating hard, crunchy or sticky foods though, as these could could cause your dentures to become dislodged or even damaged.

How do I care for my dentures?

Once your dentures are fitted, they can last for up to 10 years as long as you take good care of them.

You should clean them at least once a day using soapy water, take them out at night and store them dry. We’ll advise you about certain foods and activities that should be avoided to reduce the risk of your dentures being damaged.

Even if you don’t have any teeth remaining, it’s still important to maintain good oral hygiene when you have dentures fitted, as gum disease or oral infections could cause complications and affect your overall health.

What are the risks?

Some pain and discomfort is normal following an extraction, or when dentures are first fitted. Our dentists take care only to fit your dentures once your gum has had time to heal from an extraction, and as long as you follow our advice and look after your dentures and your oral health, you should avoid any problems.

If you continue to feel pain or discomfort after a few days, or you develop an infection or other unusual symptoms, contact our clinic straight away. You should also contact us immediately if you lose or damage your dentures.

How much do dentures cost?

The cost of your dentures will depend on whether you choose full or partial dentures, whether they’re acrylic or cobalt chrome dentures, how many teeth you need to replace, and whether any extractions or other treatments are also involved.

We’ll discuss the costs and our payment plans when you come in for your consultation. We accept all major health funds and other government-funded schemes to help make dental care more affordable.