Olalekan Okunuga, DDS, FICOI, FAAIP, is a general dentist and the practice owner of this South Hill location. He earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree at University of Pacific in San Francisco and completed his post-graduate residency at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C. Based on many years of valuable dental experience, Dr. Okunuga and his staff are proud to offer professional, compassionate care to patients that visit this practice.
The process of getting dentures requires several appointments, usually over a period of several weeks. Highly accurate impressions (molds) and measurements are taken and used to create your custom denture. Several “try-in” appointments may be necessary to ensure proper shape, color, and fit. At the final appointment, your dentist will precisely adjust and place the completed denture, ensuring a natural and comfortable fit.
However, in today’s always-on advertising world there is a lot of misinformation surrounding procedures like ours in which dentures and dental implants are used. If you open the newspaper on Sunday, you’ll find four to five advertisements stating that patients can get “dental implants” at outrageously low prices. In most cases, it’s not accurate. Remember the old adage, if it seems too good to be true, it usually is.
Removable partial dentures. Although these don't require grinding down adjacent teeth, they are not nearly as stable or comfortable as dental implants and can affect speech and eating. This type of restoration is less expensive but doesn’t look as natural or function as well as an implant-supported crowns. The bone underneath a removable partial denture may deteriorate over time, changing the appearance of your smile and face.
Implant-Supported Overdentures: To increase the stability of a lower or upper denture, it's possible for it to be securely anchored using two or more dental implants. The upper jaw requires more implants (generally three or more) than the lower jaw due to a lesser bone density. Many people find this option offers a great balance of comfort, functionality and value.
Patients should combine the brushing of their dentures with soaking them in an immersion cleaner from time to time as this combined cleaning strategy has been shown to control denture plaque.[33] Due to microbial invasion, the lack of use of immersion cleaners and inadequate denture plaque control will cause rapid deterioration of the soft linings of the denture.[34]
The gums, tongue and palate should be brushed with a soft bristle brush every evening when the dentures are removed, and each day before you insert them to stimulate the gums and remove plaque accumulation. When removing dentures at night, brush them carefully to remove any loose debris and plaque then soak them in a cleansing solution. Your dentist will be able to recommend one. Some people keep theirs in an ultrasonic cleaner, but keep in mind that an ultrasonic cleaner doesn’t replace brushing. When cleaning your dentures, place a towel beneath them or clean them over a sink filled with water to avoid breakage.
Dental implant-supported dentures have become the best treatment option for patients who are missing all or most of their teeth. The treatment boasts a high success rate, particularly when the patient makes a commitment to the maintenance of good oral health and a qualified dentist performs treatment. However, complications may occur. Here is an overview of the complications that may affect the implants, abutments, and dentures.
Most patients need a few weeks to get used to the feel and use of their new dentures. Until the muscles of the cheeks and tongue adjust to the new dentures and learn to keep them in place, they may feel a little loose. It will also take time before you are comfortable putting your dentures in place and removing them. Since the mouth increases the amount of saliva produced in reaction to the new dentures, patients should expect to have mild sores and irritations in their mouth.
If needed, patients can get a full set of upper or lower dentures, but many patients get partial removable dentures and keep as many of their natural teeth as possible. Partial dentures can replace one or more teeth in the upper or lower set, allowing spaces for natural teeth. In other words, the teeth in partial dentures do not need to be next to each other.
In either case, as you are making the decision between dentures versus bridges, it is very important to speak with your dental professional. Contact Arkansas Family Dental if you have questions about dentures or bridges. You can also schedule an appointment with either Dr. Nichols or Dr. Mascagni for help deciding between your tooth replacement options.
Review: The thought of having my teeth pulled and receiving dentures was a very difficult decision for me, however I am more then satisfied with my dentures and the team environment at the Eugene office. Nel was always so very accommodating to my denture needs and Stacy was always helpful and joyful. If I were to give some marketing advice to your clinic I would have wanted to talk with someone who had been through the transition. In addition I have now given referrals to some potential future clients but I don’ believe that there is a way for your office to know that.
It is common for patients with traditional dentures to mumble, slur their speech, or make clicking noises when speaking. This is caused by tense facial muscles that are struggling to keep poorly fitting dentures in their proper position. With implant-supported dentures, these problems can be a thing of the past. When the dentures are secured to dental implants that have become fully integrated with your jaw bone, they will not move around or become displaced. This greatly improves a patient's ability to speak clearly.
Before I close, I'd like to add a word on fees as well. I almost hesitate to call this an affordable dental office, simply because they obviously put care first. All dental offices should do what this office does and provide options, but few do. It's that commitment to patient care and letting you choose what's right for you that makes them more affordable, versus the offices that cut corners to save you a buck. That's a major difference worth noting. They also have an on-site lab, which saves costs as well.
Dentures do not function like natural teeth. It takes time to learn how to properly use dentures. Food must be cut up into small pieces and be placed on the back teeth on both sides to balance chewing. Denture chewing occurs up and down bilaterally, not on one side. One sided chewing will cause the dentures to dislodge. Biting with the front denture teeth will cause the back of the dentures to dislodge. Dentures only function properly when force is applied evenly over the entire chewing surface of the back teeth.
Dentures that fit well during the first few years after creation will not necessarily fit well for the rest of the wearer's lifetime. This is because the bone and mucosa of the mouth are living tissues, which are dynamic over decades. Bone remodeling never stops in living bone. Edentulous jaw ridges tend to resorb progressively over the years, especially the alveolar ridge of the lower jaw. Mucosa reacts to being chronically rubbed by the dentures. Poorly fitting dentures hasten both of those processes compared to the rates with well-fitting dentures. Poor fitting dentures may also lead to the development of conditions such as epulis fissuratum. In addition, the occlusion (chewing surfaces of the teeth) tends to wear away over time, which reduces chewing efficacy and decreases the vertical dimension of occlusion, (the "open-ness" of the jaws and mouth).
The UltimateFit Denture is our most innovative denture made with patented high-pressure injection technology. This unique process creates dentures that fit every contour of your mouth and oral topography and are second-to-none. The dentures are also remarkably strong, lightweight, as well as odor and stain resistant. For patients that have worn traditional dentures, a new experience awaits.
