Dentures & Partial Dentures in Stockton, CA

Dentures replace multiple missing teeth with a removable appliance. A full denture replaces an entire arch; a partial denture fills in several gaps while your remaining natural teeth stay in place.

Implant-supported dentures

With dental implants, you don’t rely on glues or springs. The dentures snap in or snap on. Some dentures are placed permanently on implants.

The practical differences are substantial. An implant-retained denture does not shift while you eat or speak, which removes the two complaints conventional wearers raise most often. Because implants transmit chewing force into the jawbone, they also slow the bone loss that otherwise continues beneath a conventional denture. The same bone loss that gradually makes a well-fitting denture loose.

Conventional dentures

A conventional denture rests on the gum tissue and is held by suction and fit. It remains a reasonable and considerably less expensive option, particularly where bone volume rules out implants without grafting.

Fit changes over time as the underlying ridge resorbs. Dentures are relined or remade periodically for that reason, and an appliance that has begun to rock or rub should be assessed rather than endured, an ill-fitting denture is itself a recognized cause of bone loss.

Partial dentures

A partial fills the gaps and clasps onto the remaining natural teeth. Those supporting teeth carry additional load, so keeping them healthy matters more than usual: decay or gum disease in an abutment tooth can cost you the partial as well as the tooth.

Where only one or two teeth are missing and the neighbors are sound, a bridge or an implant is often the better answer.

Daily care

Removable dentures are cleaned daily, outside the mouth, and the gum tissue beneath them needs cleaning too. Regular examinations continue even for patients with no natural teeth remaining, both to check the fit and to carry out the oral cancer screening that examines the soft tissues.

To talk through which option suits you, request an appointment or call (209) 951-3436. Further reading: choosing between dental implants and dentures.

Full dentures, partials and the choice between them

A full denture replaces an entire arch. A partial fills in several gaps while your remaining natural teeth stay in place.

The reputation dentures carry is largely inherited from an earlier generation of materials and techniques. What has changed most is how they are held in.

Partial dentures and the teeth that support them

A partial clasps onto the remaining natural teeth, and those teeth carry additional load. Keeping them healthy therefore matters more than usual, decay or gum disease in a supporting tooth can cost you the partial as well as the tooth.

Where only one or two teeth are missing and the neighbours are sound, a bridge or an implant is often the better answer.

Getting used to a new appliance

Speech and eating both take adjustment, and most people find the first weeks the hardest. That settling period is normal and is one of the things we check at follow-up rather than leaving you to work out alone.

To talk through which option suits you, request an appointment or call (209) 951-3436. See patient information for payment options including CareCredit.