Temporary dentures are placed in a patient's mouth immediately after all the patient's teeth are removed and they help the patient avoid being toothless after full mouth extraction. The temporary dentures act as bandages by reducing post surgical bleeding and help the healing process. The oral tissues swell into the dentures so they fit really well right after oral surgery. Because the tissues are held together by the temporary dentures, stitches are usually not needed. Since stitches are made of foreign material that irritates tissue, patients heal well. It is very important to wear the dentures all the time for a few days or the swelling will prevent you from being able to wear them until this swelling goes down.
In three to six months the tooth sockets heal and the gums shrink. The temporary dentures become loose and easily fall out after this tissue shrinkage. During the healing period, the loose temporary dentures are held in with denture adhesive. After a few weeks, the temporary dentures can be office relined to help them fit better but they are only temporary.
The dentists at the Atlanta Dental Group PC make inexpensive throw away temporary dentures that have the exact shape and form of the patient's previous natural teeth. This allows the patient to enjoy the same bite as the natural teeth while wearing these dentures. At the end of the healing period, a new set of properly made cosmetic dentures is can be made. Because the patient is wearing temporary dentures, the dentist can take as much time as needed to insure that the new dentures are beautiful.
Having temporary dentures made instead of permanent dentures allows patients to avoid many of the problems associated with immediate dentures. Many patients are very unhappy with their immediate dentures for several reasons. Immediate dentures are not tried in the mouth so that the patient never gets to see how the new smile looks until the dentures are delivered after oral surgery. If there are any problems with the color, shape or the arrangement of the teeth, such as with the smile, there's no going back. Making a set of temporary dentures allows all of these problems to be corrected after the six month healing period.
If you need full mouth extractions and temporary dentures and would like have them both done at the same office, please call 404-874-7428 to set up a consultation with Dr. Padolsky.