Immediate Dentures

 

Having your dentures inserted at the very moment your remaining teeth are extracted has advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage, of course, is not having to be toothless during the healing and preliminary gum shrinkage period about 2-6 months. Here are some of the disadvantages:

 

Gum Shrinkage : Following extraction of a tooth, the bony socket surrounding the area begins to shrink as a normal part of the healing process. This occurs rapidly during the first few weeks, then tapers off to practically nothing after about 3 months. How much and how soon, may vary greatly with each individual. Just as you might heal faster than someone else, see better, or run more slowly, your reaction to this process can also vary greatly from someone else.
This is certainly true were dentures are concerned. They are as different as fingerprints. For some, this shrinkage will be so rapid and so great that the dentures will loosen practically from the moment they are inserted. On the other hand, there are some people who have so little shrinkage that their dentures fit tightly from the beginning and will continue to do so. However, regardless of how good your denture feels it should be relined sometime during the six months following extractions. (To avoid confusion, it should be noted that this procedure is separate from the original denture construction and requires a modest fee in addition to the original denture fee.)

 

Trial Insertion : All complete professional denture construction methods include a trial insertion. What this means is that the final teeth are secured in a wax base temporarily and tried in your mouth prior to finishing your denture. This step is critical and necessary to assure you and your denturist that the bite and appearance are correct for you. Do the teeth agree with your facial contours? Are they the right color? Do they protrude too much or not enough?
With a trial insertion the teeth are in wax and changes can still be made prior to finishing your dentures. Obviously, if you still have some of your own teeth this step cannot be done as completely as if you had no remaining teeth, so this becomes a weakness for immediate insertion dentures. The problem is offset somewhat by having a few remaining teeth to guide the denturist.

Immediate Dentures Wearers:

BEFORE	AFTER