What to expect from an immediate denture

An immediate denture is what it says. It is placed immediately after the teeth have been extracted. It cannot and will not function or feel like a denture placed over healed oral tissue. It does provide a certain amount of function and esthetics for the patient.
Approximately 6 months after receiving your immediate dentures, the dentures will have to be rebased, relined or a new denture will have to be made.

As a note, there is no such thing as a "permanent denture" as your mouth will continue to change shape over time. Well-made dentures can last you 5 to 10 years, but they may need to be adjusted or re-made depending on the healing process.

Advantages

Perhaps the most important advantage of immediate dentures is that you never need to appear in public without any teeth. Other advantages include:

1. The form, size and arrangement of your natural teeth can more closely be duplicated when some teeth remain in your mouth.
2. When immediate dentures are inserted, they act as a bandage and help reduce bleeding.
3. Immediate dentures protect the tissues at the sensitive extraction sites from irritation which might result from the tongue and food. This can mean less discomfort for you than with conventional denture construction.
4. Immediate dentures can enable you to establish your speech patterns more easily. You do not have to learn to speak without teeth and then re-learn once dentures are made.
5. With immediate dentures you can chew better than you could without teeth during the normal waiting period for conventional dentures.
6. If dentures do not replace the natural teeth within a short time, the cheeks tend to fall in.
7. If you remain without teeth for some time, you may develop oral habits that will interfere with your ability to learn how to use dentures properly.

Disadvantages

Like any other procedure, the insertion of immediate dentures does have limitations, of which you should be aware. There are some people for whom immediate dentures are not advisable because of their general health or specific oral problems.

1. More office visits are required during the first few months, to watch for changes in the gums and in the mouth function. Also the original good fit and occlusion of the denture will be lost as healing takes place. This is normal.
2. Because of changes in the tissues after removal of the teeth, immediate dentures usually need to be re-fitted by a dentist within several (usually six) months. This involves additional expense. In some cases new dentures must be made.
3. In the areas where the last remaining teeth will be removed, immediate dentures will not always fit quite as accurately as conventional dentures made at a later date, after gums have healed.
4. Because some of your teeth are still in place, you cannot see how the dentures will look in your mouth until after the natural teeth have been removed.
5. Immediate dentures are usually more expensive because of the additional time required for their construction.

What to expect when the denture is first placed

1. For the first 24 hours, DO NOT REMOVE the denture. The denture will control the bleeding and actually cause minimal discomfort.
2. Some swelling is to be expected after extractions. To keep the swelling to a minimum, and to help stop the bleeding, hold an ice pack to the areas of the jaw where teeth have been extracted. 15 minutes on, and 15 minutes off.
3. For discomfort take Tylenol, or the medication Dr Antonious may prescribe.
4. Remove the denture 4 or 5 times a day after the first day, and rinse the mouth with warm salt water. Do this for the first week. You may sleep with the denture.
5. If sutures were placed, you will return in 1 week to remove them.
6. You should eat soft foods for the first week, then gradually determine what you can handle. What you once ate with ease, may now be very difficult.
7. For the first 1-2 weeks, up to 1000 mg of vitamin C a day will promote and aid healing of the mouth. Refraining from alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking would also be beneficial.
8. You WILL find that a denture adhesive will be necessary to help hold the denture in place.
9. If you develop any sore spots, call our office at 408-720-0900 so that we may take care of it as soon as practical.