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The False Teeth Shut-In

Are you a denture wearer who's afraid to be seen in public because your denture is unattractive? Do you find yourself eating alone because you can't eat foods your friends eat? Do you wear your partial dentures in your pocket?

Prosthodontics wearers, without knowing it, can become dental "shut-ins." They begin, subtly, to reorient their lifestyle around loose dentures. When false teeth don't look or function properly, some people withdraw from their social lives and suffer depression and diminished self-esteem. Some even become recluses.

Tale of a shut-in

One prosthodontics patient - a truck driver - couldn't eat properly with his cheap dentures. At truck stops, he would take his food back to his truck and eat alone. He gave up his only social activity on the road - swapping stories with other drivers over a meal. For two years, he was a prisoner in his own truck.

But many people can reverse this situation. When false teeth look and feel right, a denture wearer's whole mental outlook can brighten.

Eating gives pleasure and a feeling of security learned from early feeding experiences. It's an important part of most social occasions. When a person controls the quality and quantity of his food, he's able to achieve this sense of security and a feeling of self-esteem.

So let's start fresh.

There's no need to feel unattractive or live in fear of a denture faux pas in the company of friends and family. Your dentist can help you regain function, comfort, and a natural appearance by replacing or refitting your denture. A well-fitting denture is a small sort of miracle, but one that works wonders for your self-esteem. Don't be a shut-in. Call your prosthodontist, and start smiling again.

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.

What To Do With The Broken Denture - Denture Repair

Even though dentures are fabricated from extremely durable materials, they will break, wear out, a tooth will come out, or their fit will change. Then its time for denture repair.

Accidents happen, dogs still like to chew on plates of the dental kind, and trash compacters have never taken kindly to dentures. In fact, it is frequently not a matter of "if," but rather a matter of "when" a denture will become broken, lost, or damaged beyond repair.

One can be assured that a problem will happen when least expected, and immediate, usually important, plans definitely will be altered unless a person is prepared.

Damaged Denture - How to Expect the Unexpected and Be Prepared

A short-term use duplicate denture will bridge the gap while a regular denture is being repaired, renovated, or replaced. Sometimes this type of denture is referred to as an "embarrassment denture" because it helps a person avoid the embarrassment of being without teeth in an emergency or during planned denture maintenance.

While this type of denture may be made at any time from an existing functional denture, it generally is fabricated immediately after a new denture is made. The embarrassment denture is neither as accurate nor as esthetic and durable as the original, but it is adequate and only meant for short-term use. The cost is generally considerably less than the original denture.

Such an interim prosthesis may be relined annually and adjusted in advance to fit the current changing shape of an individual's jaws, and therefore be ready to use at a moment's notice.

However, some individuals choose to have their embarrassment denture relined and adjusted only when they need the short-term denture. Following this latter course means that they will have to wait to wear their interim denture until an appointment can be scheduled with a dentist to complete the reline and any adjustments. But a reline for an embarrassment denture can be done in the dentist's office during a single appointment so a patient may leave with it refitted in the mouth.

In either case, a person would not be without a prosthesis while their regular denture is being worked on.

The Embarrassment Denture Facilitates Planned Periodic Maintenance

All dentures need to be periodically relined to accommodate the constant change in shape of a person's jaws. There are also times when the plastic body of a denture needs to be changed due to deterioration, or the entire denture replaced because of wear or poor fit from changing mouth conditions that can no longer be remedied by relining.

While relines can be completed in one appointment office visit, more durable relines may require that a dentist keep a denture for several days. Replacing the plastic body of a denture (called a rebase) takes several days and making a replacement denture takes several weeks.

It becomes easy to see how an embarrassment denture would solve being without one's regular denture for a period of time, even for planned maintenance, while getting on with one's life.

by Joseph J. Massad, D.D.S.

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.