Dentures – Hackensack, NJ

Effects of Missing Teeth

Simply put, missing teeth have to be replaced quickly if you want to avoid:

• Low Self-Esteem – Whether you’re missing several teeth in an arch or an entire row, you may have trouble looking and feeling your best.
• Dental Drift – If the teeth surrounding the gap drift out of alignment, several issues can arise, including premature wear and chronic jaw pain.
• A Restricted Diet – Following tooth loss, you may have to resort to eating plain yogurt, applesauce, and other soft foods on repeat.
• Trouble Communicating – Even just one missing tooth can completely change your speaking patterns, making it more difficult to enunciate clearly.

The sooner you come to our office, the sooner we can explore the different tooth-replacement solutions that are available and restore your healthy, complete, and beautiful smile.

What Qualifies You for Dentures?

At your initial consultation, we’ll review your dental history, take the necessary X-rays, and complete a visual exam. If you’re struggling with moderate to severe tooth loss, but your gums are healthy, then there’s a good chance that dentures are the right solution for you. If that’s the case, then we will move on to the next step of the process: creating your custom treatment plan.

Important reminder: There are some cases where patients aren’t candidates right away. For instance, if there is an active infection in your gums or one of your natural teeth has decayed beyond the point of repair, then we will need to provide the necessary restorative care before we can begin the process of making your custom denture.

Alternative Tooth-Replacement Options

Dentures are not your only choice when it comes to tooth replacement. Not only that, but there are some cases where we don’t recommend them. For instance, if you are only missing one tooth, then your dentist in Hackensack can rebuild the strength of your bite and the appearance of your smile with:

• A Dental Bridge – If you are missing one tooth (or up to four teeth consecutively), we can fill the open space with a dental bridge. This restoration is durable, lifelike, and can last for over a decade with proper care.
• A Dental Implant – This tooth-replacement solution is unique because it can replace both the root and the crown. Not only that, but it has the longest lifespan, with many patients enjoying theirs for 30+ years.

Psychological Benefits

Although you might not necessarily think about your mental health when considering the effects of missing teeth, the truth is that empty spaces in your smile can affect your self-esteem and confidence, and even cause you to feel sad, withdrawn, and depressed. In fact, studies have shown that when you’re ashamed or embarrassed by your oral health, you’re less likely to socialize, increasing feelings of isolation.

However, when you restore your missing teeth with dentures in Hackensack, insecurities about how you look, sound, and even which foods you’re able to eat will all be reduced, giving you back the confidence to socialize and get back into the world!

Clearer Enunciation

When you’re missing teeth, it can be harder to pronounce certain words correctly, resulting in embarrassment and misunderstandings. With dentures, you can easily enunciate your words, giving you back the ability to converse without hesitation. Although they will require a short adjustment period, clear speech should come naturally with just a little bit of initial practice.

Improves Nutrition

When you think about healthy foods like crunchy vegetables, ripe, juicy fruits, and lean cuts of meat, they all have one thing in common: they require teeth to chew them. Unfortunately, that means if you’ve lost yours, your diet could be suffering.  Dentures in Hackensack restore your ability to chew, allowing you to include more healthy options in your diet, improving your nutrition and lowering your risk of malnourishment.

Preserves Oral Health

Natural teeth act as placeholders in your arches, so they don’t drift out of place and cause bite problems. If you still have any remaining real teeth, dentures can assist in preventing them from shifting around in your mouth. Better still, because they absorb the pressure of chewing, dentures in Hackensack can also can reduce the amount of wear you put on those existing teeth, so they remain in good condition for as long as possible.

Expands Opportunity

Studies have shown that when you look at someone’s face, one of the first things you notice is their smile. This means that having a full set of beautiful teeth can make or break a first impression, which can be crucial when it comes to things like sales, job interviews, and presentations. When you restore your smile with dentures in Hackensack, you aren’t just improving your gorgeous grin, but you could even be increasing your chances of earning promotions and other employment opportunities.