An Immediate Denture is a special type of denture that is made for when you are getting extractions done, usually by an oral surgeon, and when you want to wear a denture right away instead of waiting for your mouth to heal first before getting fitted with a new denture. The Immediate Denture itself is a permanent denture, but the fit is temporary. An Immediate Denture can be made for the top or bottom of your mouth, and can be either a Full Denture or a Partial Denture.
Your denturist, in consultation with your oral surgeon or dentist, makes you the denture based on the impressions made of the inside of your mouth with the natural teeth there that you will be getting extracted (pulled). You then take that denture home with you (in a heat-sealed, sterile pouch), which can later be placed into your mouth immediately after the extractions of your teeth.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Immediate Dentures
There are both advantages and disadvantages with an Immediate Denture that your denturist can speak to you about in more detail at your Free Consultation appointment at the Grantham Denture Clinic. But here are a few of them.
Advantages:
- The number one advantage is obvious: you will have teeth in your mouth when you leave the oral surgeon’s office for aesthetics purposes. Most often this is needed when people need to go back to work.
- Whether or not you’re able to eat or not will depend on how the extractions went, how much swelling you have, how sensitive your tissues are and how much bone loss happened during the extractions.
- The Immediate Denture can partially serve as a bandage for the wound left by the extractions as your tissues heal.
Disadvantages:
- The fit is never as good as we would want it to be due to not knowing how much bone and tissue loss occurred during the extractions. Subsequently, with an Immediate Denture, as the swelling of your gums decreases and the bone that supports the teeth continues to reshape as it heals over time following the extractions, the Immediate Denture gets loose and needs repeated Temporary Liners put in until the shrinkage stabilizes. Some individuals have a massive amount of resorption and require many liners; and others only need one or two.
- There will be a significant amount of discomfort due to your sore gums.
- Sometimes the appearance is also compromised due to not having enough room to position the anterior (front) teeth for a proper smile line.
- There is no Try-In stage where we are able to trial fit the denture in a wax state, when you get to look at the denture in your mouth prior to finishing it off. This is because your teeth haven’t been pulled yet.
Because of these disadvantage, most people decide to get the extractions done first and wait for their gums to heal for us to make them a regular Partial Denture that fits precisely right away—precisely because it’s based on impressions of your mouth after the gum shrinkage has stabalized.
Number of Appointments
An Immediate Denture is made in consultation between you, your denturist and your dentist and/or oral surgeon. The process usually begins between you and your dentist, with your dentist recommending extraction of some or all of your teeth on the top or bottom, or both. You may or may not already have an existing denture. But your dentist is recommending to extract teeth, and then for you to be fitted with a new denture. It can either be an Immediate Denture, which is a denture we make for you that can be placed into your mouth immediately after the extractions of your teeth, or a Regular Denture, for which you first have the extractions and then wait for healing to take place before a new denture is made and inserted into your mouth. Whatever the case, the Grantham Denture Clinic recommends you see your denturist next (after your consultation with your dentist), for a Free Consultation appointment, before you book your teeth extractions.
At Your Free Consultation Appointment, your denturist will make an assessment of your oral factors, such as the state of your teeth, gums, ridges, and so on, discuss with you your options, and perhaps make a recommendation.
For example, if you are thinking of getting all your own natural teeth extracted (pulled) on the bottom, your denturist may recommend keeping certain natural teeth that are still in not-too-bad shape as a better option to hold in an Immediate Partial Denture—as opposed to getting an Immediate Full Denture. In such a case, existing natural teeth are used as an anchor to hold a Partial Denture in more stably using its clasps. The difficulty with a Regular (as opposed to Implant-Retained) Full Lower Denture is that it tends to move in your mouth when you speak and eat—more so than you might expect. A Regular Full Upper Denture is kept in the mouth using suction to your upper palate. But a Regular Full Lower Denture is kept in your mouth as best as possible using a precise impression of your lower gums and ridges, and adhesive like Poligrip, so it just doesn’t fit as tightly as you may want, though you can definitely get used to it and manage quite well. Of course, the best option for some people may be to get implants, but if you have 1 or 2 natural teeth in not-too-bad condition, your denturist might recommend a Partial Denture for you.
The other principal issue of course is an Immediate Denture vs. a Regular Denture, which your denturist will speak to you about—explaining not only the advantages and disadvantages of each in general, but also specifically in your case, given your personal oral factors. If you should decide to go ahead with an Immediate Denture, then you can expect your appointments after this initial consultation appointment to go as follows:
Immediate Dentures
(initially 2 appointments over 1-3½ weeks usually, with then additional appointments to tighten things up as needed as the swelling of your gums goes down and gum shrinkage occurs and as the bone that supported the teeth continues to reshape as it heals (called bone resorption or shrinkage))
An Immediate Denture is made by your denturist, that can be placed into your mouth immediately after the extractions of your teeth.
Full Dentures (Immediate) (initially 2 appointments over 1-2 weeks usually)
Full Upper or Full Lower Immediate Denture (initially 2 appointments over 1-2 weeks usually):
(1) Preliminary Impressions, (2) Bite.
Full Upper & Full Lower Immediate Denture (initially 2 appointments over 2 weeks usually):
(1) Preliminary Impressions, (2) Bite.
Partial Dentures (Immediate) (2 appointments over 1-3½ weeks usually)
Acrylic Partial Immediate Dentures (no metal framework) usually takes 1-2 weeks.
Cast Partial Immediate Dentures (with a Cast Metal Framework), that needs to be sent out to a lab with casting equipment (we usually get the metal frame back from the lab in 9-12 days, depending on how busy the lab is), usually takes approximately 3½ weeks in total.
In general, whether you are getting a Partial Upper Immediate Denture or a Partial Lower Immediate Denture or Both (acrylic or cast), you will need these 2 appointments:
(1) Preliminary Impressions, (2) Bite.
If you are getting both one Partial Immediate Denture and one Full Immediate Denture, then both can still be done within the same 2 appointments.
Additional Appointments for Immediate Dentures:
After the day of your extractions (you will be wearing your denture(s) from that day forward if you so wish), you will need additional appointments as the swelling goes down and your gums gradually shrink, and as the bone that supported the teeth continues to reshape as it heals. When everything has shrunk and changed shape so much that you no longer can wear them, then you need to come in to our denture clinic for a Temporary Liner to be placed into the denture(s) (a.k.a. tissue conditioner or temporary reline). The Temporary Liner is placed into your denture in that appointment as you wait in the dental chair:
Over a year or more, your gums and bone will continue to shrink, requiring additional Temporary Liners. The cost of up to three Temporary Liners in total is included in your initial fee for your Immediate Denture(s) at the Grantham Denture Clinic.
When things have settled down with the shrinkage, you may then need a permanent Reline of the denture(s)—for an additional fee. Most people go for the permanent Reline as it ensures your dentures are an excellent fit.
We understand the need to consider many factors
when selecting a denture that’s right for you.
That’s why we encourage you to visit us
for a complimentary consultation.
You’ll be able to ask questions so you can
make the best decision for you—with confidence.
Call us to book your Free Consultation appointment.
We understand the need
to consider many factors
when selecting a denture
that’s right for you.
That’s why we encourage you
to visit us for a
complimentary consultation.
You’ll be able to ask
questions so you can
make the best decision
for you—with confidence.
Call us to book your
Free Consultation appointment.
Our Mission at Grantham Denture Clinic for more than 50 years (first with father Joe and now with son Tim as your denturists) has always been to bring our patients exceptional solutions, techniques and quality care to their denture needs along with a compassionate approach, creating a calming environment with confident, yet gentle, personalized denture care, always putting our patients first. We just love the joy we bring to our patients’ lives when we fit them with a denture that makes them feel whole again.
Office Hours
| Mon | 9:00am-5:00pm |
|---|---|
| Tue | 9:00am-5:00pm |
| Wed | 9:00am-5:00pm |
| Thu | 9:00am-5:00pm |
| Fri | Closed |
| Sat | Closed |
| Sun | Closed |
