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| Home | Dentures | Curriculum Vitae | Denture Hygiene | Implants | Crown & Bridge Veneers |
TMJ | FAQ | Meet Dr. Ron |
ORAL HYGIENE FOR FOLKS WHO WEAR DENTURESDr. Ron LevandoskiSome Philosophy In 1876, Mr. Henry John Heinz of Pittsburgh, PA started a business. His personal philosophy was “To do an uncommon thing uncommonly well”. I can remember as a young child visiting the J. H. Heinz plant on the North Side of Pittsburgh and learning how Mr. Heinz developed a name that is recognized and respected world wide to this day. As an undergrad student at the University of Pittsburgh, I decided that success in life and in practice would require performance beyond “uncommonly well”. As a dental student at the University of Pittsburgh, I realized that for uncommon success in my practice, I had to provide extraordinary service. There are plenty of places a person can go for common dentures at low fees and plenty of places a patient can go for common dentures at high fees. There are very very few places where a person can expect an extraordinary denture prosthesis fabricated by the doctor himself. That is what you get in my office. Very simply, you cannot get a better denture prosthesis anywhere at any fee. My goal is to personally fabricate extraordinary dentures that not only function at theoretical limits, but also achieve extraordinary cosmetics. Dentures that look so natural that only the doctor knows for sure. This is my office philosophy. I have over thirty years of experience and a staff that helps me to provide extraordinary world class service to my patients. We have made new lives for many thousands of folks who wear dentures. I am very happy that you chose my office for fabrication of your new dentures. As you know, I use the best materials and technology available and spend considerable time in my office dental lab personally fabricating your new dentures. There are no laboratory technicians or dental assistants working on your dentures in my office, I make them entirely myself. I am a prosthodontist (specialty recognized by the American Dental Association) and a member of the American College of Prosthodontists. For over three decades I have studied the issues involved in long term denture health and success. I continue to study the latest ideas and research by taking extended post graduate courses. I also give continuing education workshops to general dentists in the area of high level denture esthetics and fabrication. Your confidence is selecting our office for your treatment is appreciated. One of the most important considerations in successful cosmetic denture treatment is my confidence in your ability to accept and accommodate to your new dentures. I never accept a case unless I feel that I can make a significant contribution to the patient’s oral health. Without this mutual confidence, the possibility for success can suffer. The degree of difficulty of each case is an important variable and includes problems with jaw bone levels, proximity of the jaw nerves to the surface gum tissues, bite instabilities, dry mouth saliva problems, TMJ problems and a whole host of variables that we carefully screen for at the initial examination in my office. We try our best to discuss and explain these elements at the consultation visit so that there are no surprises. And in the course of taking impressions, selecting prosthetic teeth and processing of the cosmetic denture, I incorporate specific measures that minimize problems after you go home with your new dentures. As always, if you have any problems or questions, please call my staff. If the questions cannot be answered on the phone, then get in for an office visit so that we can troubleshoot the problem and get you back on track. We try our best to obtain the level of expectations that our patients deserve and desire. This level of expectation is in direct proportion to the level of achievement possible. These factors and other human idiosyncrasies make it impossible to guarantee that we will be able to achieve the level of expectation for some folks in spite of extraordinary effort. For patients that seem to have more than their share of problems, implants can be a very good option to get the chewing efficiency and denture stability that they require. So, naturally, the more problems we find, the more protocols we have to exercise to manage them. Thankfully, for the very great majority of patients, eventually Mother Nature accepts the clinical limitations of dentures and life can go on. We do guarantee that we use the vest materials available and that Dr. Ron and his staff will make every effort to help you accommodate and achieve a satisfactory result. We use the best teeth and the best heat cure base acrylics available to get an extraordinary result. Folks that are taking drugs that dry the mouth, folks with excessive bone loss, and people with significant health problems (oral cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, advanced periodontal bone loss, etc.) can expect a longer period of time for accommodation to dentures. It always takes time for the mouth tissues to adjust to new dentures and my patients always tell me that after a few months, things settle in and they are very pleased with their treatment. New dentures, just like new glasses, will take a while to feel natural and become a part of your body. Speech and external appearance improves with time as the denture settles and you regain your skills for chewing and swallowing and talking, singing, etc. As always, if you have any problems or questions, please call my staff. If the questions cannot be answered on the phone, then schedule an office visit so that we can troubleshoot the problem and get you back on track. For folks with “dry mouth syndrome” whether it is due to medications or some other health related problem, it may be necessary to sprinkle an amount of denture powder (the size of a match head) on the gum side of the denture to help retain moisture. You should try to drink as much water as possible to hydrate and keep your oral tissues moist. Even though you may have worn dentures previously, the new ones that we fabricate for you will require time, practice and patience and in some rare cases, several extra special adjustments. There are artificial saliva products that can help some select cases. I specifically advise my patients to avoid all denture adhesive pastes, powders and pads. These can make dentures fit too tight and cause rapid loss of the denture support bone and hasten the need for a reline. If too much bone is lost due to abuse of adhesives, you may lose the chance that implants could be an option or in extreme cases, you will be unable to wear dentures or chew normal foods. I strongly recommend that you not use any drug store denture adhesives of any kind. God intended for us to have our teeth for a lifetime. But He also gives us the skills to fabricate man made replacements for missing teeth and He gives people the skills necessary to be successful with wearing dentures. As always, if you have any problems or questions, please call my staff. If the questions cannot be answered on the phone, then get in for an office visit so that we can troubleshoot the problem and get you back on track. And never, ever use drug store tooth ache drops on denture sore irritations. I have treated a large number of patients who see something like “Ambesol” advertised on TV and they put this on denture irritations. This results in chemical burns of the soft tissues and a very lengthy period of painful healing. I see this at least twice per month, in spite of what I tell my patients. If there was some secret medicine that I could prescribe for my patients for the normal settling irritations that they experience during the normal settling of their dentures, I would immediately prescribe it! There is no magic herbal or homeopathic cures either. Tincture of time and patience; learning what foods you can eat comfortably is the best plan. Don’t rush Mother Nature. As always, if you have any problems or questions, please call my staff. If the questions cannot be answered on the phone, then get in for an office visit so that we can troubleshoot the problem and get you back on track. And NEVER try to adjust your new dentures yourself. I take a very elaborate highly technical impression of your jaw structures. Every square millimeter of your new dentures has been painstakingly developed to improve function and chewing comfort. As a denture settles, the occlusion of the teeth will need to be adjusted, not the pink acrylic base. This is a highly technical adjustment that simply cannot be done at home without sophisticated equipment. When the pink acrylic is adjusted, food gets under the denture and the denture starts to wobble and lose retention and stability. I have relined many many dentures that were ruined by well meaning folks who tried to adjust them at home. If you have an irritation, please call my office and let me do the adjustment for you.
It seems that there are several time proven points that are very important for denture success. To maintain the best service with your new prostheses, it is important that you follow some simple but important instructions for home care and future appointments. The chief reason that folks lose teeth is periodontal disease and a diet high in sucrose (sugar, corn sweetener, Splenda, corn syrup, dextrose, etc.) and sweet foods. This wrecks the bone around the teeth and the associated bacteria can cause rampant decay. When the teeth are replaced with new dentures, the need for cleaning the dentures on a regular basis becomes very important. You want to keep a bright smile and fresh breath, so regular oral hygiene procedures after every meal is very important. I give my patients specific brushes to clean their gum tissues and their dentures. NEVER use hard brushes commonly recommended by druggists. I give my patients the brushes they need for free to make sure that they can clean their dentures without damaging the teeth or the pink base material. Please use the brushes we give you to clean your new prosthesis. I recommend that you put some plain old tooth paste on the tooth brush and brush the denture ridges and your tongue several times per day. Food trapped on the tongue and under and on the dentures is unsightly, irritates the gum tissues and can result in bad breath. If you have an irritation from eating foods that are just not right for your personal situation with your new dentures, you can hasten healing with twice daily rinsing with saline solution. The recipe is 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water. You can use this solution even if you don’t have an irritation to freshen your breath. By the way, do not swallow this, rinse and spit. Please note that there is nothing you can buy at a drugstore, no herbs, nothing that I can sell you that will hasten healing. It takes three to seven days to heal a food cut or denture irritation. You cannot rush Mother Nature. Note that commercial mouth rinses like Listerine, Lavoris and others can really irritate sore areas and also tend to dry the mouth. Not good for denture patients. If you have an irritation that is sore and you do not want to brush this area, you can wrap a clean wash cloth around your finger and use this to gently wipe the area of irritation with the above saline solution. As soon as possible, begin to use the soft tooth brush to massage all of the gum tissues under your new dentures for health and fresh breath. And ALWAYS put some water or a basin with water or a towel in the sink when you clean your dentures. It is easy for the wet dentures to slip out of your hand and hit the sink. This could chip a tooth or worse. Never attempt to clean your dentures over a hard surface. Always remove your dentures if you become nauseated. I have had to remake several dentures for patients who became ill, vomited and lost their dentures. Always take out your new dentures if you feel you might become ill. Always store your dentures in a suitable container. I have had to remake several dentures for people who left them on the bed stand only to have the family cat or dog chew them to shreds. It seems that family pets love the saliva smell on dentures and try to make a meal of them. If this happens to you, take Fido or Tabby to the vet to make sure that they are OK, then call my office. I recommend that you wear your cosmetic dentures 24 hours per day, except when you are cleaning them. This allows the facial muscles to maintain optimum support and prevent sunken wrinkles to form. It can take up to two hours for the facial muscles to relax and the jaws to accept dentures in the morning after being out all night. I recommend that you NEVER soak your dentures in drug store cleaners as they can bleach the color out of the teeth and especially the base of the denture. This can wreck efforts that were taken to get you a fantastic cosmetic result. While you are getting accustomed to your new dentures and trying to figure out what you can eat comfortably, it is a good idea to make sure that you are getting the vitamins and supplements you need for good nutrition. I don’t recommend that you buy expensive items advertised on the radio or TV. If you have questions, my staff can make suggestions for you. So, if you follow our directions, your decision to obtain extraordinary service will result in extraordinary cosmetics and function. And only the doctor will know for sure!
Dr. Ronald R. Levandoski, DMD, Ltd. |