Immediate Dentures in Oak Park, Melbourne

Who this is for

Most people who ask about immediate dentures have the same worry. They need their last few teeth out, and they cannot face weeks at work, at church or at the shops with gaps.

An immediate denture solves that one problem. We make it before extraction day, using moulds of your mouth while your own teeth are still there. The dentist takes the teeth out, and the denture goes in a few minutes later.

What it is not

It is not your final denture. Your gums and the bone underneath shrink a lot over the first six months, and the denture will loosen as that happens. We plan for it with temporary soft liners, then either a hard reline or a new denture once things settle. Anyone who tells you an immediate denture fits perfectly at month four is not being straight with you.

You also cannot do a full try-in. With your teeth still in place, we cannot test the new teeth in wax the way we do for a standard denture. We copy your existing tooth shade, size and bite as closely as possible, and you see the result on the day.

How the extractions work

A prosthetist does not take teeth out. A dentist does. You can use your own dentist, or the dentists at Oak Park Dental in Suite 1 of the same building. Either way, we book your extraction and your denture fit together so the timing lines up.

The first 48 hours

Leave the denture in for the first 24 hours, including overnight. It works like a bandage over the sockets and keeps swelling down. If you take it out that first night, it may not go back in the next morning.

We see you again the next day or the day after. We take the denture out, check the sockets, clean everything and ease any spots that are pressing.

Eat soft, cool food for the first couple of days. Soup that has cooled, yoghurt, scrambled eggs, mashed vegetables. No hot drinks on day one.

Cost

Immediate dentures at Oak Park are $1,450 to $2,600 per arch, depending on how many teeth are being replaced and the tooth range you choose. Extractions are billed separately by the dentist. At Oak Park Dental a simple extraction is $220 to $380 per tooth.

Plan for at least one temporary soft liner during healing. We include it in your written quote so there are no surprises. Full price list is on our pricing page.

Eligible patients can use a Victorian Denture Scheme voucher, and DVA Gold Card holders are covered for clinically necessary dentures. Private health extras rebates depend on your fund and level of cover, and we can claim on the spot.

After healing

Around six to nine months after extractions, the ridges are stable. At that point you have two choices. We can do a permanent hard reline of the immediate denture, which is the cheaper option, or make a new full denture that is shaped to your healed gums. Many people keep the immediate denture as a spare.

For a day-by-day account of the healing period, read our immediate dentures guide.