People can lose their teeth in various ways. It can be due to poor oral hygiene, an accident, an illness, or simply as a result of aging. Regardless of the cause, it’s not uncommon for people to lose whole rows of teeth and require dentures.

Such a loss can have a detrimental impact on your life. It can affect your overall health and diet because you’re unable to chew properly with too many teeth missing. It can shatter your confidence when you’re unable to smile or speak normally with your missing teeth.

Dentures have been used to replace missing teeth for a long time now. But while this procedure has been done for hundreds of years, modern dentistry has advanced enough so that you can receive more effective and more natural-looking dentures to replace your teeth.

The base of the denture is generally made from acrylic. This lets the dentures sit comfortably over the gums. The tooth portion of the denture is made of ceramic, or some other material that’s similar to ceramic so that it’s strong and durable.

Both the acrylic base and the ceramic for the tooth portion look realistic. One of the reasons for the popularity of dentures is that they’re not noticeable and they’re very natural-looking.

Full and Partial Dentures

Your dentist will make an impression of your teeth and jaw alignment to create your dentures. Your dentures will have the color and shape of natural teeth. While the dentures are being made, you may receive temporary dentures in the meantime.

A full set of dentures is meant to replace all your upper and lower teeth. This the typical solution when you’ve lost all your teeth, or if your remaining teeth need to be removed because they’ve deteriorated too seriously.

In some cases, you may transition to full dentures after the dentist removes all your teeth. This will require some time, as the teeth may be removed in separate appointments and the gums also need time to heal. The whole waiting process can take as long as 3 months.

If you still have teeth that are worth keeping, you can receive partial dentures to fill in the gaps made by the missing teeth. The partial dentures replace the function and look of the lost teeth, while they also keep the remaining teeth from straggling into the empty space left by the missing teeth.

Conventional or Flexible Partial Dentures

Conventional partial dentures come with a gum-colored base attached to a metal framework. The partial denture is rigidly attached to your remaining teeth. It’s a proven option that some people still choose.

However, you may opt for flexible dentures that are made of nylon resin. These don’t need to be rigidly attached to your remaining teeth. These fit better, you’ll feel more comfortable, and they look more natural. This type of denture is made more quickly, and the nylon despite its flexibility is actually very strong. All these reasons explain why this alternative is increasing in popularity.