Dentures

What Are Dentures?

A denture replaces missing teeth with a removable prosthesis that rests on the gums and the underlying jawbone. It restores chewing, speech and facial support - the last of these matters more than people expect, because the lower third of the face collapses inwards when teeth and the bone that held them are lost.

Dentures are the oldest solution in dentistry and still the right one in a great many cases: where too many teeth are missing for a bridge, where bone or general health rules out surgery, or where a patient simply chooses a removable option. What has changed is the quality of what can be made, and the fact that a denture no longer has to be loose - implants can hold one firmly in place without replacing it.

Types of Denture

Denture or Implant?

These are not opposites, and the most useful thing to understand is that they combine. A conventional denture is the faster and cheaper route and requires no surgery, but it rests on gum, and the bone underneath continues to shrink year after year because nothing is loading it. That is why a denture that fitted perfectly five years ago no longer does.

Implants stop that process where they are placed, because the bone around them is being used again. Two implants in the lower jaw are often enough to convert an unstable lower denture into one that stays where it is put - the single most cost-effective step available to a denture wearer.

Where health, bone or budget rules implants out, a well-made conventional denture is not a consolation prize. It is a legitimate treatment that has served people well for a century. What matters is that you are told the truth about how each will behave over ten years, not just how each feels on the day it is fitted.

How Are Dentures Made?

1. Examination. The remaining teeth, the gums, the ridge shape and the bite are assessed, with radiographs. Any extractions or gum treatment are done first, and healing time is allowed.
2. Impressions. A first impression is taken, then a second, more precise one in a custom tray made from it. The accuracy of this stage decides whether the finished denture fits.
3. Bite registration. The relationship between the jaws is recorded - the height of the bite and where the jaws meet. Getting this wrong is what produces a denture that clicks, aches or looks too long.
4. Wax try-in. The teeth are set in wax and tried in your mouth. You see the shape, the size, the colour and the smile line, and you speak with it, before anything is finalised. Say what you do not like at this stage - after processing, changes are far harder.
5. Fitting. The finished denture is inserted, checked and adjusted.
6. Review. One or two short appointments in the following weeks to relieve pressure points. These are expected and are part of the treatment.

Allow around two to three weeks from first impression to fitting for a straightforward case, and longer where extractions have to heal first.

Getting Used to Dentures

The first two weeks are the hardest, and everyone goes through them. Expect increased saliva at first, a feeling of bulk, and words that do not come out as they should - reading aloud for ten minutes twice a day is the fastest way through the speech phase. Start with soft food cut small, chew on both sides at once rather than one, and build up gradually.

Most patients are comfortable within four to six weeks. First-time wearers take longer than people replacing an old denture. What is not normal is persistent pain, a denture that drops when you speak, or sore spots that keep returning in the same place - those are adjustment problems with solutions, not things to endure.

Can You Eat Everything With Dentures?

Not quite, and it is fairer to say so. A complete denture delivers roughly a quarter of natural chewing force, so hard and very chewy foods stay difficult: whole apples, tough steak, corn on the cob, hard crusts, nuts. Sticky foods and small seeds cause their own trouble by working underneath the plate.

The workarounds are real ones - cut food into pieces, bite with the side teeth rather than the front, chew on both sides simultaneously to keep the denture balanced. But if food is the reason you are considering treatment, the honest answer is that implant support changes this category completely, and a conventional denture does not.

How to Clean Dentures

• Clean after every meal where you can, and thoroughly once a day. Remove the denture, hold it over a folded towel or a basin of water - most fractures happen on a bathroom sink.
• Use a denture brush and liquid soap or a denture cleaner, never regular toothpaste. Toothpaste is abrasive and scratches acrylic, and scratches hold stain and bacteria.
• Soak overnight in water or a cleansing solution. Never in hot water - it warps the acrylic and the fit is then gone for good.
• Clean your mouth too. Brush the gums, palate and tongue with a soft brush every morning. This is what prevents inflammation under the plate.
• Do not repair it yourself. Household glues are toxic and set the fragments in the wrong position. Most fractures are repairable within a day if the pieces are kept.

Should Dentures Be Taken Out at Night?

Yes, in almost all cases. The tissue underneath needs several hours a day without pressure, and continuous wear is the single largest risk factor for denture stomatitis - the red, sore inflammation of the palate that develops under a plate worn around the clock. Keep the denture in water overnight, never dry.

The exception is the first days after an immediate denture, when it is worn continuously to control swelling. Your dentist will tell you when to start taking it out.

Should You Use Denture Adhesive?

Sparingly, and never as a substitute for fit. A small amount can add confidence to a well-fitting upper denture in social situations, and that is a reasonable use. What is not reasonable is using adhesive daily to hold in a denture that has stopped fitting. The adhesive masks the problem while the bone underneath continues to change, and the sore spots and inflammation continue underneath.

If you need adhesive to get through the day, the denture needs relining, remaking, or implant support. That is a conversation worth having rather than another tube.

Sore Spots and Thrush Under a Denture

Sore spots in the first weeks are normal and are relieved by adjustment - and, importantly, wear the denture for a few hours before the appointment so we can see exactly where it is pressing. Do not file it yourself.

A red, sometimes burning palate that matches the outline of the denture is usually denture stomatitis, a fungal inflammation encouraged by wearing the plate at night and by inadequate cleaning. It is common, it is treatable, and the treatment includes an antifungal along with the habits that caused it. Any ulcer that has not healed within two weeks needs to be examined regardless of the cause - that is a rule with no exceptions.

How Often Do Dentures Need Replacing?

Every five to eight years is the usual guide, but the number that matters is not the age of the denture - it is the state of the ridge underneath. The bone resorbs continuously, so the gap between denture and gum grows even though the denture itself has not changed. Relining, which refits the fitting surface to the current shape of the ridge, is often enough at the halfway point and costs a fraction of a new denture.

Signs it is time: the denture moves when you speak, food gets underneath constantly, you have started using adhesive daily, the teeth are visibly worn flat, or your face has shortened between nose and chin.

My Lower Denture Moves - What Can Be Done?

This is the most common complaint in prosthetic dentistry, and it is not your fault. The lower jaw offers a narrow horseshoe of ridge, no palate for suction, and a tongue that lifts the plate with every word. Even an excellently made lower denture is less stable than an upper one.

The options, in ascending order of effect: a reline, if the looseness is due to bone change; a remake with a properly extended border, if the current denture is poorly made; and two implants with attachments, which is the definitive answer and the one that changes daily life most. Two implants in the lower jaw are the most cost-effective intervention available to a denture wearer, and it does not require replacing a denture you are otherwise happy with - attachments can be built into it.

Dentures for Patients Travelling to Turkey

Prosthetic work is stage-based and cannot be compressed into two days without cutting the stages that make a denture fit. A realistic plan for a complete denture is seven to ten days in one visit: impressions, bite registration, wax try-in, fitting, and a review appointment before you fly home. Where extractions are needed first, healing has to be allowed and the case becomes a two-visit plan.

Send photographs and any recent X-rays through WhatsApp before you book, and tell us how long you can stay. We will tell you plainly whether the case fits your dates. If implants are part of the plan, expect two visits - anyone promising implants and final prosthetics in a single week is describing a schedule, not a treatment.

Why We Do Not Publish Denture Prices

Because "denture" covers a simple acrylic partial and a full implant-retained overdenture in the same word. The price depends on the type, the number of teeth, the material, whether extractions or relines are needed and whether implants are involved. What we can commit to is a written plan after the examination, listing each item. And we do not quote a price for a conventional denture and then discover, once you are in the chair, that your case really needs implants - that assessment happens at the consultation, in writing, before you decide anything.

Dentures in Kusadasi

Our clinic is in Cumhuriyet Mahallesi in Kusadasi, with five treatment units and both CBCT and an intraoral scanner on site. Your first examination is carried out by Tugce Arslan, who assesses the ridge and the bite personally and plans the case from there.

If you have an old denture that no longer fits, bring it with you. It tells us more about how your jaw has changed than any description can, and in a good number of cases a reline solves the problem you came in with.

The information on this page is general and does not replace a clinical examination. Which type of denture is appropriate can only be decided after examination and radiographic assessment.

Before & After

Dentures Before and After

The images below are examples of prosthetic work carried out at our clinic. They show what changes when missing teeth are replaced - in the smile line, and in the support the lower third of the face regains. Every patient has a different number of remaining teeth and a different ridge, so results vary from person to person.

Case Examples

From a single missing tooth to a complete denture, these images show a range of situations. They are shared for information only; which prosthesis suits you becomes clear after an examination and radiographs, not from a photograph.