When faced with tooth loss or the need for extraction, one option for appearance and normal day to day function is dentures. There are times, though, when you may experience pain.
This pain can be caused by your gums not being healed from extraction or perhaps your jaw has changed and your dentures no longer fit properly. In either case, tissue conditioning can help your gums heal, allowing your dentures to fit comfortably and you to continue life as normal.
What is Tissue Conditioning?
Tissue conditioning is a method of helping your gums to heal so that your dentures fit comfortably and function properly. It can be used to help the gums heal after having teeth extracted for your first set of dentures or if they were injured after wearing ill-fitting dentures for too long.
When Would You Need Tissue Conditioning?
There are several reasons you may need tissue conditioning. You may have just had your teeth extracted, leaving your gums tender and vulnerable to irritation. Perhaps your current dentures didn't fit properly.
This may have caused pain while wearing or even caused your gums to become inflamed. Or you may have experienced accelerated bone loss in your jaw due to wearing your ill-fitting dentures for too long, causing the shape of jaw to change and your dentures to longer fit.
How Does Tissue Conditioning Work?
In order for your gums to heal after tooth extraction for your first set of dentures, you are often given a temporary set. These dentures are not as hard as your final set. The material that sits against your gums is soft and flexible.
If you currently wear dentures and your gums are in pain, a soft liner is given to you to place between your gums and dentures, provided the changes aren't too severe (in that case, you will need new dentures).
The tissue conditioner does not last very long, usually only a couple of weeks. You may end up needing to use several until you are fully healed. Your dentist will provide you care instructions as well as new conditioners as you need.
Dentures allow you to live your life normally, but they can sometimes injure your gums. If you are about to get your first set or you are experiencing pain with your current dentures, contact our office about tissue conditioning.
Frank Sallustio, DDS, 13802 West Camino Del Sol, Sun City West, AZ, 85375-4486 - Associated Words: Prosthodontist Sun City West AZ;
dental implants Sun City West AZ;
dental implants Sun City West AZ;
(623) 738-2639; www.drsallustio.com; 3/18/2019
When faced with tooth loss or the need for extraction, one option for appearance and normal day to day function is dentures. There are times, though, when you may experience pain. 
