Consultations
We provide an appointment for consultation at no charge for
patients. This is a time when both the patient and the
Denturist get an opportunity to meet. The patient's individual
needs and a course of action for treatment may be decided at
the consultation. It is a good time for patients to ask
questions. You may find writing them down helpful.
Immediate Dentures
Immediate Dentures are dentures that can be placed into the
mouth at the time of the surgical extraction of your original
teeth. They are transitional dentures that take you from the
time of your surgery and extractions through the healing
period of your dental ridge. This period is usually about six
months.
The two main advantages of immediate dentures are:
They allow you to be fitted with teeth immediately upon
extraction of your natural teeth; and the denture acts as a
bandage for the surgery needed for the extraction of your
natural teeth.
The dentures will need to be relined with a soft temporary
liner four to six weeks after surgery in order to create a
better and tighter fit to your supporting ridge. After six to
eight months, a permanent reline with new acrylic will be
necessary in order for your dentures to properly fit and not
damage the supporting ridge. Sometimes it is necessary to make
a complete new set of dentures; if the appearance or bite
relationship is not satisfactory after the healing process has
occurred. Since we have no control over these factors, relines
will be at the patient's expense.
Near Immediate Dentures
On occasion, we may suggest that you have your teeth extracted
and wait a few weeks before we make your dentures. Sometimes
the condition of the existing natural teeth would require this
treatment. It also allows for a try-in of the denture teeth
thereby eliminating the problems of cosmetics as with
conventional immediate dentures.
Replacement Dentures
A replacement set of dentures means that you have worn
dentures previously; that your extractions were done at least
six months ago and your mouth is fully healed. We usually have
a patient come in for five appointments; impressions, bite,
try-in, and the insertion of the denture. This takes
approximately three to four weeks from impressions until you
get your dentures. Normally, when you have your impressions,
you will also have an opportunity to see the various types of
teeth available, discuss appearances, and ask questions. You
will also be scheduled for a follow up visit.
Relines
With proper care, dentures should last six to ten years.
However, even
with proper care, dentures will need to be relined. This is
because the dental ridge tends to get shorter and narrower.
This resorption of the dental ridge and gums causes the
dentures to fit improperly.
This improper fit may
not be detectable to the denture wearer, but left untreated,
loose dentures may cause the underlying bone structure to
degenerate further.
Most denture wearers should have their denture relined every
three to five years in order to assure a proper fit with the
dental ridge. With proper care, dentures should last six to
ten years. If you have had your dentures at least three years,
you should contact your denturist and make an appointment to
assess whether or not your dentures need to be relined.
A Note about Alveoloplasty:
Alveoloplasty means that the bone of the ridges is shaved and
contoured. Sometimes this is a radical removal of bone.
Bone is vital for successfully wearing dentures. We do not
want most of our patients to undergo this procedure for at
least 6 to 8 months after extractions so that we can see how
much shrinking and bone loss has occurred. For many people,
alveoloplasty is NOT a necessary procedure.
Payment Policy
Our policy for payment states that a patient is asked to pay a
deposit at
the time of impressions. Then they must pay the remaining
balance when the dentures are inserted or when they pick up
their dentures (as in the case of immediates).
WE DO NOT ACCEPT PERSONAL CHECKS so that we may be able
to continue to provide reasonable fees. We do not wish for our
good patients to have to pay more for their dentures because
another patient's returned check forces us to compensate by
raising fees.
We DO accept MasterCard, Visa, and Discover, money orders and
cash is of course, legal tender.
We also offer financing through a third party. This allows
both you and us to plan the proper treatment, which you
otherwise might forego, while offering you low monthly
payments.
In order to keep our fees low; we do not bill insurance
companies directly. We will provide you with a super-bill,
which you can attach to your insurance papers and the
insurance company will reimburse you directly.
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