For generations, dentists have replaced missing teeth with dentures. Thankfully, today's dentures are not what your great-grandfather 
wore. Custom-made for proper fit, bite and appearance, dentures from your Colorado Springs dentist, Dr. Nolan Behr, can give you back your smile. Learn more here about the types of dentures currently available.
What to do about tooth loss
For some of Dr. Behr's patients, dentures are the best tooth replacement option. Custom-crafted with the finest quality acrylic and metals (when appropriate), modern dentures help fully or partially edentulous patients look their best, avoiding the skin sagging and compromised biting and chewing tooth loss causes. Plus, implant-supported dentures actually improve jaw bone quality and size.
When you come to Dr. Behr's office in Colorado Springs for a denture consult, your dentist will examine your mouth to ensure your bone, gums and any remaining teeth are healthy. He'll take digital X-rays as needed. Oral impressions (either digital or traditional putty) give the dental lab the ability to construct your dentures accurately in three dimensions.
A few appointments and "try-ons" ensure your prosthetics look, feel and perform correctly, accurately balancing your bite and minimizing any problems with speech or eating. It does take a while to adjust to life with dentures. However, Dr. Behr and his team work hard to achieve the best possible result for your renewed smile.
Types of dentures
While dentures really are customized to fit oral contours precisely and to approximate natural tooth shape, size and color, these prosthetics generally fall into four broad categories. They are:
Full conventional dentures which stay in place with the mouth's suction. They are crafted to be balanced top and bottom and side to side so biting and chewing are efficient and non-irritating. Dr. Behr places these dentures after extraction sites have healed completely
Immediate dentures which are placed right after tooth extraction to give patients fully functional smiles right away. They even speed healing as they compress the gums and bone. However, they have this disadvantage: immediate dentures must be refit or even replaced in just a few months as hard and soft tissues shrink.
Partial dentures composed of acrylic teeth and gums affixed to a metal framework. They hold tightly onto remaining teeth with snugly fitting clasps, replacing one, two or more teeth.
Implant-supported dentures which are anchored by two or more strategically placed titanium implants. They maintain jaw bone integrity and provide superior chewing and biting.
Find out more
The American College of Prosthodontists says that 120 million people in the United States have lost one or more teeth. Dentures can be the right replacement option, and it's a decision which Dr. Nolan Behr and his team can help you make. For more information on dentures, please call the office at (719) 591-2050.