The old myth about George Washington carving out a set of dentures for himself may well be the first time a boy or girl ever heard about “false teeth.” Many of us added to our concept of dentures by observing grandmother’s teeth in a glass of water on her nightstand. Over the years the process of making and fitting full or partial dentures improved with the discovery of better methods and materials. They may have been state-of-the-art a few years ago, but dentures in Murray have become second choice to dental implants for those patients who can afford them.
Full dentures or partial dentures, like grandmother’s, have the disadvantage of needing to be removed each night, and the further disadvantage of needing some kind of bonding material to hold them in place (more or less). Full dentures are called for when all of the teeth have to be removed. Partial dentures, on the other hand, are preferred when there are healthy teeth to attached to. Like full dentures, partials have to be removed at night, and they exert a great deal of pressure on the anchoring teeth which may in the long run cause damage.
Alternatives to Murray dentures
The dentist may suggest making a bridge which is more permanent than removable dentures. With the advancements in dental bonding and shaping materials, a good bridge may have the appearance of natural teeth, but they have their difficulties and limitations. For one thing, a bridge necessitates the grinding down of the otherwise good teeth that will be used to anchor the bridge in place by a crown at each end of the bridgework. Destroying a good tooth for this purpose is never an easy decision. On the other hand, the metal hook used to anchor a partial often erodes the enamel off the good tooth it attaches to.
Another problem with the bridge is that there is nothing under the bridge where the natural teeth are missing. Without anything pressing against the bridge, the gum underneath softens and recedes and the bone beneath that goes unstimulated and also begins to decline. The prognosis for longevity of the bridgework is not optimistic and will sooner or later need to be replaced.
Simply preparing the teeth for placing a bridge may take up to four hours in the dentist chair and also involves that clay-like molding material that the patient has to bite down on. That impression is then sent to a dental lab for creating the finished product. The dentist may be able to supply a temporary bridge to use during the week or two it takes for the finished bridge to arrive. Recently, computer aided CAD technology is allowing computer design to be manufactured more quickly. Almost all types of dentures are being improved upon as new materials and methods of delivery come into existence.
