Top Dentures Dentist Greenwood & Indianapolis
Dr. Matthew Walton has the experience and credentials you should look for when considering a dentist for your dentures.
Dedicated to life-long learning, Dr. Walton has averaged 90 continuing education credit hours (per licensing period) throughout his career; the minimum requirements for the state of Indiana are 20 continuing education credit hours per licensing period!
Located just 15 minutes south of downtown Indianapolis with free parking.
Dr. Matthew Walton, with a high-tech dental practice office located in Greenwood, has been serving patients from Indianapolis Metro, Southern Indiana & Central Indiana since 2006.
OR CALL (317) 885-7006 OR TEXT US TO GET STARTED.
Treatment Options for Missing Teeth
Implants, dentures, bridges and more.
Video 01:17 | Dr. Walton of Greenwood, Indiana, discusses treatment options for missing teeth including implants, dentures, bridges and more.
Dentures are a replacement for missing teeth that can be removed and put back into your mouth as you please. Depending on each individual patient case, they may receive full or partial dentures. Full dentures are used when all of the natural teeth are removed from the mouth and replaced with a full set of dentures. There are two types of full dentures.
Conventional Full Dentures
This is when all the teeth are removed and the tissue is given time to heal before the dentures are placed. It could take a few months for the gum tissue to heal completely, and during this time you will be without teeth.
Immediate Full Dentures
Prior to having your teeth removed, your dentist takes measurements and has dentures fitted for your mouth. After removing the teeth, the dentures are immediately placed in your mouth. The benefit is that you do not have to spend any time without teeth. You will, however, need to have a follow up visit to refit your dentures because the jaw bone will slightly change shape as your mouth heels. The dentures will need to be tightened after the jaw bone has healed.
Photo features a hand holding an immediate full denture (false teeth).
Partial Dentures
Partial dentures are another option when not all of your teeth need to be removed. This is similar to a bridge, but it is not a permanent fixture in your mouth.
Photo features a hand holding a partial denture (false teeth).
Your dentures may take some time to get used to. The flesh colored base of the dentures is placed over your gums. Some people say that it feels bulky or that they don’t have enough room for their tongue. Other times the dentures might feel loose. These feelings will affect the way you eat and talk for a little while. Over time, your mouth becomes trained to eat and speak with your dentures and they begin to feel more and more like your natural teeth. They may never feel perfectly comfortable, but it is much better than the alternative of not having teeth.
Even though dentures are not real teeth, you should care for them like they are. You should brush them to remove plaque and food particles before removing your dentures. After they have been removed you should place them directly into room temperature water or a denture cleaning solution. Never use hot water because it could warp the dentures. Your dentures are delicate, so make sure you are careful when handling them so you don’t drop them. Also, never try to adjust your dentures yourself. You could ruin them, so you should always seek assistance from your dentist if they feel uncomfortable or loose.
In short, soft foods are relatively easy to eat with dentures. However, the range of foods that one can eat with dentures compared with teeth is markedly decreased. The difference in chewing efficiency and bite force recorded in a person with natural teeth and the one with dentures is dramatic. In the first molar region of a person with teeth, the average biting force has been measured at 150 to 250 pounds per square inch (psi). The maximum bite force in the person with dentures is reduced to less than 50 psi. The longer the person is missing teeth, the less force they are able to generate. Patients wearing complete dentures for more than 15 years may have a maximum bite force of 5.6 psi. As a result of decreased bite force and the instability of the denture, chewing efficiency decreases with tooth loss from 90% efficiency with teeth, to 58% with dentures (decreased by 40%). In persons with dentures, 29% are able to eat only soft or mashed foods; 50% avoid many foods; and 17 % claim they eat more efficiently without the prosthesis.
Soft foods are recommended while wearing the healing or temporary dentures after the teeth are removed. Typically, a knife and fork will need to be used to cut normal size food down to small bites. As the bone and gum tissue heals and hardens, foods with more substance can gradually be added to the diet. After the healing takes place, a new denture will need to be made, or the healing/temporary denture will need to be relined to make it fit better.
After the teeth are removed and you are fitted with dentures, speaking will need to be re- learned and practiced. In general, at first, there is a learning curve with speaking with new dentures. However, with time and practice, speech becomes more routine and normal. This is a gradual process.
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Do dentures cause bone loss?
Yes. Bone needs stimulation to maintain its form and density. In the long bones of the body, this comes from walking, exercising, and going about your daily activities. In the jaws, this stimulation comes from the forces (both compressive and tensile) that the teeth exert on the bones during mastication (chewing). When teeth are lost, the lack of stimulation to the bone causes a decrease in bone density with loss in width, height, and volume of bone. There is a 25% decrease in width of bone during the first year after tooth loss, and 40-50% over one year, and an overall 4mm decrease in height during the first year after teeth are removed . (Misch, Contemporary Implant Dentistry, 2008, 3rd edition)
Video 00:34 | Dr. Walton of Greenwood, Indiana, demonstrates the bone loss and facial changes that occur after tooth loss.
A removable denture (or partial denture) does not stimulate and maintain bone; rather, it accelerates bone loss. The load from the mastication is transferred to the bone surface only, not the whole bone. As a result, blood supply is reduced and total bone volume loss occurs. To further exacerbate the situation, the bone loss accelerates when one wears a poorly fitting soft tissue-borne prosthesis (denture). It has been reported that 40% of denture wearers have been wearing an ill-fitting prosthesis for more than 10 years. Patients wearing dentures day and night place greater forces on the hard and soft tissues, which accelerates bone loss. Nonetheless, 80% of dentures are worn both day and night. (Misch, Contemporary Implant Dentistry, 2008, 3rd edition)
Will my face collapse with dentures?
The facial changes that naturally occur in relation to the aging process can be accelerated and potentiated by the loss of teeth. Several esthetic consequences result from the loss of jaw bone after teeth are removed. As the jaw bone resorbs, the vertical dimension between the upper and lower jaws comes closer (collapses or decreases in height). The chin rotates forward, and creates a prognathic (witches chin) appearance. The corner of the lips turn downward (reverse lip line) giving the appearance that one is unhappy. A thinning of the vermillion border of the lips results from poor lip support. Many women often then will not use lipstick at all, or will place lipstick drawn on the skin over the outside of the lips to give the appearance of fuller lips. When the dentures are inserted, they bring support to the lips, thereby masking some of these changes from the premature bone loss. The denture gives lip support.
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Dental Implants For Dentures
(Snap-In Dentures)
A great option to replace all of your teeth is an implant retained denture. Some may call this a “Snap-In Denture”.
Read more and find pricing on the Dental Implants page.Securing dentures with implants helps prevent bone loss.
Video 00:28 | Dr. Matthew Walton, serving Greenwood & Indianapolis, explains how securing dentures with dental implants helps prevent bone loss.
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Featured Testimonial
“I was referred to Dr. Walton by a friend, and his work on my teeth has been life-changing! I’ve had a lot of expensive dentistry in the past and I had given up and resigned myself to dentures, when I decided to give my own teeth one last chance, and I’m SO glad I did! Dr. Walton is a skilled professional, it was obvious that my level of comfort and satisfaction was the most important thing to him and his capable staff. Put that together with the amazing and wonderful miracle he performed on my teeth, and the experience has been more than positive. The days of worrying about how getting dentures would impact my appearance, and quality of life, are a distant memory, and I have Dr. Walton’s skill and talent to thank for that. I would recommend Walton Family Dentistry to anyone who’s looking for life-changing dentistry performed by wonderful people.”
Marie H. – Read more reviews
Before & After Photos
Patient Cases
Your results may vary.
