Immediate Dentures

An immediate denture is fabricated in advance and placed on the same day the natural teeth are extracted, so a patient is never without teeth — a distinct alternative to the conventional approach of waiting for the gums to heal before making a denture.

The core tradeoff

A conventional denture is made after extraction sites have healed and the gum ridge has settled into something close to its final shape, which typically takes a few months — during that healing window, the patient goes without teeth, or with a temporary that isn’t a full denture. An immediate denture avoids that gap entirely: it’s built ahead of time from impressions and measurements taken while the natural teeth are still in place, then placed immediately after those teeth are removed. The tradeoff is precision — since the denture is built from a projection of what the healed gums will look like rather than an impression of the gums as they actually are post-healing, the initial fit is inherently less exact than a conventional denture’s.

Why the fit changes more in the following months

Immediately after an extraction, the socket begins healing and the surrounding bone and gum tissue reshape substantially over the following weeks and months — this happens with any extraction, but it matters more here because the denture is already in place and resting directly on that changing tissue. As the gums shrink and settle, gaps can open up between the denture base and the tissue, which is why relines — adjusting the inside surface of the denture to match the current shape of the gums — are a routine, expected part of the process rather than a sign anything went wrong.

What the day of the procedure looks like

The extractions and the denture placement happen in the same visit. Because the denture is fitted directly over freshly extracted sites, some patients find the initial adjustment period more noticeable than with a bare healing socket, and follow-up appointments in the first weeks are standard specifically to check for pressure points and adjust the fit as swelling subsides and initial healing progresses.

The longer-term path

Many patients treat the immediate denture as a bridge to a more permanent solution: once the mouth has substantially stabilized, months later, a reline can extend its use, or a new conventional denture — built from an impression of the now-healed, stable gums — can be made for a more precise, longer-term fit. Which path makes sense depends on how well the immediate denture is functioning and what the patient and dentist decide together once healing has progressed.

Who tends to choose this

It’s most often chosen by people having front teeth extracted, where going without a visible tooth for months isn’t acceptable for work, social, or personal reasons, or by anyone who simply doesn’t want to be without teeth at any point during the transition. It requires planning ahead of the extraction itself, since the denture has to be fabricated before the teeth come out — a decision made and discussed with the dentist well before extraction day.