Immediate Dentures

You have just had an immediate denture placed in your mouth. The following will assist you to understand the sequence of events during the healing period:

• Teeth have been removed from your mouth. Stitches may have been placed to help the mouth heal. If so, they will dissolve by themselves over several days, unless we tell you differently.

• Dentures have been placed to replace your missing teeth and gum tissue. Initially, these dentures will feel large and bulky until your gums have healed and shrunken slightly, at which time we will make the dentures thinner and less bulky. The dentures may cause your speech to be altered for a few days, but this feeling will disappear soon.

• Do not take the dentures out of your mouth today. We will remove them tomorrow. The new dentures serve as a bandage similar to a cast on a broken arm during initial healing. After the initial denture is removed by us, you may remove the denture as needed for cleaning.

• Some discomfort is usually present when teeth are removed and immediate dentures are placed. The discomfort is due to one or two reasons.
• The trauma of removing teeth. Within a few days the discomfort will go away.
• The denture may have pressure spots. If so, the pressure spots will be observed and removed by us as soon as you tell us about the discomfort. It will not go away by itself.

• If you have been given antibiotics, it is important to continue with the therapy until all of the tablets are used.

• Use the pain relieving pills when you are experiencing discomfort.

• Your dentures have been relined today with a soft material that makes them easier to wear and speeds the healing. This material may be placed during the initial healing period of 6 weeks or more. It is not the final denture material. Be careful not to dislodge this soft material when cleaning.

• As soon as convenient, place ice cubes in a plastic bag and place the bag externally on the area here teeth were removed. This will reduce swelling and bruising. However, some swelling and bruising may still occur for a short time.

• After 6 weeks (minimum) your denture will be relined to refine its fit to the healing supporting tissues. The reline is included in the cost of your denture. At this time the denture will appear fit, and function as intended.

• Healing from tooth extractions continues for up to 18 months. Shrinkage of the gums and bone is obvious during that time, but it slows thereafter. You may elect to have a second reline of the denture 18 months after initial surgery. This reline is not included in your initial fee.

• Immediate dentures are a major change to your body. Don’t worry if you are slow to adapt. Millions of others have been through this experience. We expect your eventual denture to serve well for many years.
  
  

Removable Partial Dentures

We have done our best to provide you with well-fitted, functional, and esthetic removable partial dentures. We feel confident that after a few weeks of becoming adjusted to the new partial, you will have years of satisfaction and use from them.

1. The First Few Weeks: New partial dentures always feel strange when first placed in your mouth. Several days, or even a few weeks will be required for you to feel accustomed to them.
   
   
2. Sore Spots: Usually, your mouth will have a few “sore spots” after wearing the partial denture for 24 hours. Don’t worry about these areas. They can be relieved with very little effort during your next appointment. Another appointment about 7 days later will usually eliminate any other sore areas.
   
   
3. Chewing: The new bite may not feel comfortable for a period of days. We will adjust the contacting surface of your teeth in 24 hours and again about one week after the partial denture has “settled” into place.
   
   
4. Cleaning the Partial Denture and Your Mouth: Your partial denture can be cleaned by using a soft bristle toothbrush and a mild toothpaste or regular hand soap. Use special care to clean the parts of the partial denture that may contact any natural teeth. Both the partial denture and the natural teeth must be kept very clean on a daily basis to reduce the chance of new dental decay starting. Use fluoride-containing toothpaste for the natural teeth. If suggested by our office, use PreviDent (Colgate) as a brush on material on a daily basis. This product requires a prescription from our office.
   
   Denture soaks are also useful for the partials. Please ask us if you are interested in small “sonic” cleaners available for home use. Brush your gums with a regular toothbrush once per day to toughen and clean them. You may leave the partial dentures in or out of your mouth at night, depending on your preference. If they are out of your mouth, leave them soaking in water.
   
   
5. The Future: Your jaw bones and gums shrink up to 1/32 of an inch per year when your teeth are missing. This shrinkage is one of the main disadvantages of artificial dentures. Because of this shrinkage, you should plan to have your dentures and oral tissues evaluated by our office at least once every 6 months. We will inform you when refitting of the partial denture is necessary. Wearing ill-fitting dentures for too long without refitting can cause severe bone loss and serious oral diseases.
   
   

Complete Dentures

We have done our best to provide you with well-fitted, functional, and esthetically pleasing dentures. We feel confident that after a few weeks of becoming adjusted to the new dentures, you will have years of satisfaction and use from them.

The flowing information will be helpful to you:

1. The First Few Weeks: New dentures always feel strange when first placed in your mouth. Several days, or even a few weeks will be required for you to feel accustomed to them.
    
2. Sore Spots: Usually, your mouth will have a few “sore spots” after wearing the dentures for 24 hours. Don’t worry about these areas. They can be relieved with very little effort during your next appointment. Another appointment about 7 days later will usually eliminate any other sore areas.
    
3. Chewing: The new bite may not feel comfortable for a period of days. We will adjust the contacting surface of your teeth in 24 hours and again about one week after the denture has “settled” into place.
    
4. Upper vs. Lower Dentures: Your denture will rest comfortably in place with moderate to strong “suction”. Although your lower denture will have good stability, it is infrequent that “suction” can be expected on a lower denture. However, we suggest you avoid denture adhesives unless you have significant difficulty because they alter the fit of the denture over a period of time.
    
5. Cleaning the Dentures and Your Mouth: Your dentures can be cleaned by using a soft bristle toothbrush and mild toothpaste such as Complete (Procter & Gamble). Denture soaks are also useful for the denture. Brush your gums with a regular toothbrush once per day to toughen and clean them. You may leave the dentures in or out of your mouth at night, depending on your preference. If they are out of you mouth, leave them soaking in water to avoid warping of the splint.
    
6. The Future: Your jaw bones and gums shrink up to 1/32 of an inch per year after your teeth are extracted. This shrinkage is one of the main disadvantages of artificial dentures. Because of the shrinkage, you should plan to have your dentures and oral tissues evaluated once per year by us. We will inform you when refitting of the dentures is necessary. Wearing ill-fitting dentures for too long without refitting can cause severe bone loss and serious oral disease.

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