Younger patients may feel especially sensitive about their appearance when having dentures fitted, but dentists offer treatment options that help avoid embarrassment. Having removed the remaining permanent teeth, the dentist must wait several months while the gums change shape before they can receive permanent dentures. During this time, the patient can choose to have no teeth, or wear immediate dentures. Fitted directly after tooth extraction, immediate dentures ensure there’s no awkward toothless period. When the gums have adjusted, the patient returns to the dental office to have the dentures relined them to fit the mouth’s new shape.
Implant-supported dentures can also help younger people’s fears that others may notice and comment on their dentures. Regular dentures in the lower mouth are not as secure in the mouth as upper dentures (due to the presence of the tongue), and they sometimes slip, but implant-supported dentures offer a high level of security. The dentist or dental specialist surgically inserts implants into the jawbone to hold the denture tightly to the gum. Keep in mind the process for fitting implant-supported dentures takes several months, and there must be sufficient jawbone to hold the implants in place.