Natural appearance teeth?

How natural can you make a denture look?

Interesting question you may think - many of my patients would like to exchange their existing, perhaps unsightly natural teeth, which have seen better days, for a second chance. The artificial denture tooth, created in a natural shade material, of which there are about 16 differing slight shade differences, can be made very lifelike and acheive this to a high degree.

But sometimes, to match existing teeth, in the case of a removable petial denture, we need to match even more closely the shades, hues and contours of teeth. This is where the artistic side of dentistry comes into its own.

Lines, that match the natural teeth either side can be added, as can fillings and subtle discolourations to acheive a more natural look. So it is now not necessary to have that 'tombstone - look' that was so characteristic of older dentures. The modern style allows more freedom, and as a consequence, more aesthetic results.

Dental Jokes

Just as there are many 'Doctor' jokes, so there are a few Dentist jokes!!!

Here are some examples:

Man: "Darling, your teeth remind me of the stars"
Woman: "Because they gleam and sparkle"
Man: "No, because they come out at night!"

What does the dentist of the year get?
- a little plaque!!

A judge walks into a dentist and asks for them to extract the tooth, the whole tooth, and nothing but the tooth!

Ok, they are bad. Any more that you can think of?

Natural Appearance

When a new complete denture is being planned, it is often helpful to be able to visualize how the position of a patient's teeth has altered during the intervening time between the final loss of the natural teeth, and the current denture set. This often allows a more natural appearance to be achieved in the new denture, if we can 'copy' the natural position and facial symmetry.

Unfortunately, many of the helpful reference points change in the years following the loss of the natural teeth. But help is at hand!

One useful way of identifying the position of the natural teeth, their size and shape, and sometimes their colour, is by use of existing photographs, taken before the teeth were removed.

With modern computer generated images, it is possible to copy an older photograph which may show these helpful positions, and it is then possible to magnify specific areas of the print to identify the teeth.

This technique has greatly improved our ability to provide as accurate a denture in appearance to the natural teeth. thus adding to the all round satisfaction of all those concerned with providing the most natural denture for a patient.

One of the things I love about my job!

Now I know that I should say the politically correct answer, such as the challenge of the denture cases that I have referred to me, but I was reminded of one of the joys of my job this week.

I have been looking after a family for the past 15 years, and one of the children, who was only 10 when I first saw them after they moved to Haywards Heath, has just started a family of her own! Her mother attended for an examination with a 'first' picture of her grandchild who was born the day before!

It reminded me of how much I enjoy and appreciate the relationship with my patients through dentistry during time spent at the chairside. This is one of the reasons that I enjoy Prosthetics, as the process of constructing a new denture, takes place over a number of visits, where, if the process is to be successful, a good relationship needs to be central to the denture.

Prosthetics is always a relationship between the patient, my dental team at the practice, myself, and, of course, my technician.