Answers to Your Frequently Asked Questions

Dentures can be full dentures (replacing all teeth) or partial dentures (replacing some missing natural teeth). Dentures rest on the jawbones, and in the case of partial dentures, they also attach to your natural teeth for support. Dentures can achieve more support by surgically placing implants, giving us an anchoring to the jaw bone. Implants can be used with both full and partial dentures.

Dentures, like your natural teeth, can stain. Unfortunately, unlike your natural teeth, you can not whiten them. Daily care from day one can reduce your chances of staining. Brushing your dentures/partial dentures twice a day with a non-abrasive cleaning solution to remove any attached plaque and bacteria is a great start. There are also solutions available in the market to soak your dentures, which will help reduce staining.

No. Toothpaste includes an abrasive which helps clean your natural teeth; however, it is too hard on the denture and can cause bacteria to stick to the dentures. This can result in a prematurely stained denture that has the ability to accumulate more bacteria. Instead of toothpaste, use either a denture cleaner (same as toothpaste without the abrasives) or dish soap.

Yes, you can sleep with your full dentures. However, dentures should be removed throughout the day to clean them and your mouth properly. Partial dentures should be removed at night to eliminate any stress or strain from your natural teeth.

Unfortunately, lower dentures tend to be less stable than upper dentures. Due to the anatomy of the mouth, a lower denture is seldom able to achieve suction, and due to the tongue and floor of the mouth constantly being in motion, it tends to easily dislodge the lower denture. During meal times, a small amount of denture adhesive can be placed on the underside of the denture to help stabilize the denture. A consultation with your dental surgeon could greatly achieve lower denture stability with the placement of dental implants.