Most dentists will tell you that denture last anywhere between 5 and 10 years. Dentures that fit well will not only improve quality of life, but can also enhance eating and speaking as well as improving your looks. Talk to your dentist or dental assistant about the condition of your current dentures to see if they think it’s time for you to replace your old dentures with new dentures.
Dentures are made to fit using two methods denture fitting, immediate and conventional. Conventional dentures are fitted once teeth have been removed from the mouth and the gums have recovered fully. Then, once fully healed after the teeth have been removed, impressions of the mouth are made and are used to customize the dentures for best fit. The dentures are then created, fitted and adjusted, until they are an ideal fit to the mold. Conversely, with immediate dentures, molds of the jaw are made beforehand and dentures are fitted on the same day that the teeth are removed from the mouth. With this procedure, the denture will later need to be adjusted for a perfect fit.
There are a number of factors that have an effect on the fulfillment and life span of false teeth including denture care and cleaning, tobacco and caffeine use, as well as general health status. Other factors affecting the life of your dentures include the amount of time since loss of teeth, the shape of your mouth and changes in facial or oral musculature structure, and even cases when there has been significant weight change. One indication of when it is necessary to change dentures is a loss or change in colour of dentures, surrounding teeth and even the facial skin.
The space between dentures and underlying tissues is caused because of fabrication and material limitations used to make dentures. This limitation creates space and gaps and along with the constant changes in contour and shrinkage of the jawbones, can cause irritating and inconvenient slippage of dentures. Although, this interface space will exist in all dentures and even increases over time, maintaining the best possible denture retention and function depends on reducing these gaps and spaces.
