Bone Smoothing and Shaping Before Placing Prosthetics
 Dentures are a common solution for replacing missing teeth. These removable prosthetic teeth consist of acrylic resin teeth that are set into a hard, acrylic base. Made from impressions of your mouth, dentures sit directly on your gums, relying on the soft tissue for support. Despite being made from impressions of your mouth, irregularities in your bone can prevent dentures from fitting properly. Optimum Oral Surgery Group can help with bone smoothing and shaping.
Pre-Prosthetic Surgery
Bone smoothing and shaping before placing your dentures is called pre-prosthetic surgery. This is a surgical procedure that is designed to prepare your jaw for your new dentures. Pre-prosthetic surgery is not necessary for everyone receiving dentures. It is, however, recommended if you have jagged bone or growths that can otherwise interfere with the fit and functionality of your dentures. With pre-prosthetic surgery, we can help ensure optimal fit and function of your dental restorations.
What Causes Unevenness in the Jawbone?
Your jawbone can become jagged and uneven for a few different reasons. One common reason for jagged bone is tooth extractions. When your teeth are extracted, rough edges can be left behind. Another reason for uneven bone is the loss of bone mass over time. When you lose teeth, your jawbone loses stimulation, causing your body to believe that fewer nutrients are required. The bone begins to break down and resorb, which can cause it to become uneven.
Smoothing and Shaping
When your jawbone is rough and uneven, it can interfere with the fit of your dentures. Your dentures may not be able to effectively stay in place and may move around or fall out of place more frequently. Not only can this interfere with the functionality of your dentures, but it can also impact your chewing ability, your digestion, and can cause painful denture sores on your gums. Bone smoothing and shaping, also called alveoplasty, is a procedure designed to eliminate these rough spots.
It is often performed immediately following tooth extractions, which prevents the need for a separate procedure later on. The goal of smoothing and shaping is to prevent spots where your new dentures can rub your gums, which aids in preventing sores.
Removing Excess Bone
Some patients have excess bone in their jaw. The amount of excess bone can vary from patient to patient. Small amounts of excess bone may not interfere with the fit of your dentures, and dentures can be fabricated around them, but a moderate to significant amount of excess bone can. If you do need to have bone removed, it is done before taking the impressions required to fabricate your new dentures. There are a couple of different areas where bone needs to be removed from. The most common types of excess bone that require removal include exostosis and lingual tori. An exostosis is excess bone located on the outer side of your jaw, facing your lips or cheeks. A lingual torus, on the other hand, is located on the inner ridge of the jaw. This particular type of excess bone is found on the lower jaw. By removing excess bone, we can help to ensure that your dentures fit properly and remain in place.
Smoothing and reshaping your jawbone allows for your dentures to fit more comfortably and function much more effectively. For more information, and to find out if pre-prosthetic surgery is right for you, call Optimum Oral Surgery Group today at (856)778-8686.
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