Dentures
It appears that there are still many people out there who are slightly misguided when it comes to complete loss of teeth. I would like to spend this week’s column discussing dentures and the common misconceptions surrounding these artificial body part replacements.
First and foremost, you do not naturally lose your teeth when you get older. In the past, when dental care was not generally available, it became very common for people to eventually have all their teeth out. As it takes a while for dental disease to eventually claim all the teeth, tooth loss became associated with aging.
In reality, there is no reason to lose your teeth, as you get older, today it is generally accepted that most people will have their teeth for their entire life and the necessity to have complete dentures is most often the result of conscious decisions.
Dentures are not a substitute for natural teeth; they are a substitute for NO teeth. It is widely believed that removable complete dentures will give the same function as natural teeth, but even the best-made dentures cannot come close to providing the function of natural teeth. It has been shown that the biting forces generated by dentures approach only 10 – 20% of that of fixed teeth. Dentures are by their very nature, are loose. Even a properly fitting upper denture is not fixed in place, but held in by suction. Lower dentures, with 1/6 the surface area for suction and a tongue moving around are even worse.
Dentures are not factory original parts but after-market add-ons. The gums remaining after teeth have been removed were never intended to support acrylic bases and denture teeth. As a matter of fact, immediately following tooth extraction, the bone that was there to support the teeth, starts to disappear. The additional load from the denture hastens this shrinkage. As this bone loss progresses, the fit of the denture will change. The denture wearer may adapt to this change as it happens slowly so they may not notice the subtle degradation of the fit and function.
So, yes, even though you have dentures, you should see your dentist at least once a year. At this appointment your dentist will do an oral cancer exam and soft tissue check. He will also evaluate and clean your denture. If the fit is not adequate, he may suggest a reline. If the teeth are worn out he may suggest a new denture. We recommend that a denture be relined every two years and that they be replaced every five years.
At your regular denture and gum check, your dentist will also be able to discuss with you some of the possibilities available today where you can have a fixed solution to your problem using dental implants.
March 2nd, 2010 at 2:12 pm
Very interesting article. Couldn’t be written any better. Reading this post reminds me of my old chum. He constantly kept talking about this. I will forward this post to him. Pretty sure he will have a good chuckle. Thanks for sharing!