Dentures are often perceived as the “ugly duckling” regarding options for replacing teeth — especially as dental implants become increasingly en-vogue. Dentures in Waterloo don’t have to be ugly, though. With some strategic thinking and planning, you can be sure you’ll receive the most attractive and natural-looking dentures possible. The key to obtaining natural-looking dentures that will meet your functional needs and cosmetic goals for the long term is to work collaboratively with the staff at your dental clinic in Waterloo. Here are some things to keep in mind.
If you have the luxury of time to plan while making your transition to dentures, be sure to take advantage of that time. Rather, for example, than trying to transition to two full arches of dentures at once, begin with a single upper or lower arch while you still have (at least some) natural teeth in the other arch. When you’re ready to switch to dentures on the other arch, you’ll be a pro, and your second transition will be much easier. It’ll be easier to get accustomed to living and eating with dentures on one arch than on two.
One of the key factors in ensuring that your dentures look natural in your mouth and against your lips and skin is to choose a natural colour. Don’t fall for all the marketing and media content that would make you believe healthy teeth are “white.” They aren’t. Popping a set of dentures with white teeth into your mouth will make you look like a costumed mannequin — and cheap. It’s not a look to strive for. Rather, the colour of clean and healthy teeth falls in a spectrum that includes gray and yellow tones. If you still have some natural and healthy teeth, use them as a guide to selecting the colour of your artificial teeth. Feel free to lighten them up a shade or two if your teeth are dingy or not regularly whitened.
What if you’re only getting dentures in your upper arch, for example, while you still have some teeth in the bottom arch? How concerned should you be that the upper and lower arches match? If you anticipate getting dentures in the other arch eventually, don’t sweat it too much if you’re focusing on your upper arch for now — that’s the one most people do first — choose the colour you want your teeth to be without worrying too much about matching your lower teeth. After all, the teeth in your lower arch are generally a couple of shades darker than your upper teeth. Furthermore, a much larger portion of your upper teeth is visible when you speak, laugh and smile than your lower teeth.
When choosing the look of your new artificial teeth, don’t forget to think about how straight they should be. Of course, you want them to be straight. No one would pay the price of dentures for crooked artificial teeth, but maybe they shouldn’t be straight and precisely the same size. Not even straight teeth after successful orthodontic treatment are precisely straight, spaced, or the same size. Remember, the goal is to be provided with natural-looking teeth, not perfect teeth. When designing your dentures, remind the staff at your denture clinic in Waterloo that you want dentures that appear perfectly natural, even if that means they don’t appear exactly like they might on a doll or package because you are neither of those things.
Getting dentures near you is a process you should take your time with. Take your time to design the dentures you want and ask lots of questions of the staff at the dental office near you that you’re working with. By taking the time, you’ll end up with dentures to smile about and beautifully natural teeth to show off as you do.