Tooth loss is a life-altering experience. It impacts an individual’s ability to bite, chew, speak, and smile with confidence. In cases like this, full or partial dentures offer an invaluable way to restore bite function and the natural form and appearance of the mouth and face.
For anyone considering dentures, there’s a very important question to answer: partial or full dentures? Understanding their differences is key to making an informed decision that meets your precise needs and maintains day-to-day quality of life.
What Are Dentures?
Dentures are custom-made, removable dental devices that replace missing teeth and their surrounding tissue. Dentures are popular among patients who, whether because of accident, disease, or age, have lost some or all of their teeth.
Dentures are usually made of natural-looking porcelain. Every set of dentures is custom-crafted for the patient for whom it’s intended. Dentures come in two forms: complete and partial.
Complete dentures are typically used when a full arch of teeth from the upper part of the mouth or the lower jaw is missing. Complete dentures are designed to fit like a mouthpiece over the gums. Partial dentures, meanwhile, are used in cases where some but not all teeth are missing. Partial dentures attach to adjacent teeth via attachments like clasps and restore the mouth’s function and appearance.
The Main Benefits of Dentures
Dentures offer a wide range of benefits. Some of the biggest include:
- Restoring a person’s smile to its confidence-inspiring best.
- Enhancing clarity, pronunciation, and comfort when speaking.
- Enhanced chewing function, allowing a person to not only enjoy virtually all foods but also break them down properly, which supports proper digestion and nutrient absorption.
- Dentures prevent remaining natural teeth from shifting out of alignment.
- Dentures preserve facial structure by preventing the muscular sagging that often occurs after tooth loss.
Full and Partial Dentures in Beachwood, OH
If you’re in the Beachwood area, have suffered tooth loss, and would like to learn more about the cosmetic and health benefits of full and partial dentures and determine which option is best for you, contact dentist Dr. Yovi Taub and the Beachwood Smiles team to schedule a consultation!