Dentures are removable replacements for missing teeth and the surrounding tissues. A full denture includes all the teeth from either your upper or lower jaw. You may need full dentures for both jaws if you have lost all of your teeth.

Partial dentures are also available if you have some natural teeth left.

There are two types of full dentures, either ‘conventional’ full dentures, which can be placed in your mouth approximately eight to twelve weeks after your final teeth have been removed, or ‘immediate’ full dentures, which can be fitted straightaway but may need some adjustments as your gums heal.

When we make full dentures, we look at your facial proportions and the shape of your gums and lips and create false teeth that complement your features, so they look natural and attractive. If you’ve been without your teeth for a long time, people will notice that you have a full set of teeth. The changes you see to your appearance should be positive – having teeth will give better definition to your mouth and fill out your face.

When you first wear full dentures, it may feel strange. Your cheek muscles and tongue will need to adapt to the dentures and you may feel the urge to keep touching them with your tongue! Some people do experience soreness and irritation during the first couple of days, while others have no problems at all. By custom making your full dentures, we will do everything possible to make them comfortable from the outset. Within a few days, you should find that you adjust to being a denture wearer.

Learning to eat with full dentures can take a bit of practice over the first few days. We recommend starting with fairly soft food like scrambled eggs or well-cooked pasta chopped into small pieces. As you become more confident about eating, you can go back to eating many of your favourite foods. You may need to avoid very hard food, or food – like toffees and chewing gum – that’s particularly sticky.

There are various ways that we can use dental implants to give you a complete new smile as an alternative to full dentures. You might want to consider implant dentures to give your teeth greater stability, help minimise bone loss, and broaden your diet.

We would always recommend that you come in for a no-obligation consultation, so you can find out about your options and what we think would give you the best outcomes for your needs and budget.