Complete Dentures in Costa Rica

What are Complete Dentures?
Complete dentures or Full dentures are removable appliances that are used for the replacement of all missing teeth in one or both of the dental arches of a patient. These are artificial set of teeth that is used for maintaining functional integrity of oral tissues, thereby helping the patient in the process of mastication.
Dentures are designed by a prosthodontist or a denturist for edentulous patients and are custom-made in a dental lab after taking the impressions of both the upper and lower jaws.
The full dentures are made with acrylic based material that snugly fits over the gum tissues of the jaw arches.

What are the types of Complete Dentures?

• Conventional Complete Dentures
  A conventional full denture is the most popular type of denture. They fabricated 6-8 weeks following the extraction of last tooth from the respective dental arch. These are designed only after all the soft tissue in and around the extraction area is healed and therefore requires a waiting period of at least 6-8 weeks. The disadvantage associated with conventional complete denture is that the patient might feel uncomfortable staying without teeth for a longer period of time.
• Immediate Complete Dentures
  An immediate complete denture is designed and inserted in a patient’s mouth immediately after the extraction of the teeth. The dentist obtains precise arch measurements with an alginate impression before proceeding to teeth extraction and prepares both the maxillary and mandibular jaw models for furthering the treatment. The denture is prefabricated much before the extraction is planned and is inserted into the patient’s mouth immediately following the extraction.
  The advantage of immediate denture is that the patient doesn’t need to stay without teeth even for a single day and it also serves as a template to facilitate tissue healing. The underlying bone and gum tissues undergo modulation and gain uniformity as the healing progresses. Immediate complete dentures often require relining and periodic adjustment by a dentist based on patient’s comfort.

How many sessions are required?
A conventional complete denture procedure requires 3 to 4 sittings with the dentist.
An immediate complete denture procedure requires 2 sessions, excluding the follow-up visits.

How long will the dentures last?
There are certain factors that decide the longevity or the life span of complete dentures:
the age of the patient, the rate of bone resorption and the presence of an underlying medical condition.

Complete dentures require relining, rebasing or re-construction after some period due to normal bone wear. Excessive resorption of bony ridge may cause irritation to gum tissues which may result in redness, swelling and pain which may lead to chewing difficulty and finally ill-fitting loose dentures. It is advised for complete denture wearers to undergo a dental check-up every year to rule out these problems.

What type of dentist handles complete dentures?
The complete dentures placement is performed by a Prosthodontist.