So often, people think that their tooth problems will go away if they simply have their bad teeth removed and replaced with full or partial dentures. We only wish we could tell people that this is the case. Unfortunately, it is simply not true at all. There are many problems will dentures, as anyone who has worn them for any amount of time will testify to.
To begin with, difficulty eating begins on the day that the patient is first fitted with new dentures. Even the best dentures can only produce 10% to 20% of the normal bite force a person normally chews with. This, of course, makes it extremely difficult for a person to eat like they normally would. Limiting diet like this can cause adverse health effects for many people.
Another problem associated with dentures is the way they change the taste of food. Upper dentures are notorious for doing this because they cover the taste buds at the top of the mouth.
Gagging is a problem with dentures that many people experience?especially with upper dentures. Some people have a hyper-sensitive gag reflex that makes it difficult for them to complete dental treatment of any kind.
If you are one of these people, we can treat you with sedation dentistry when we work on your mouth in our office. However, we will not be able to fit you with dentures if your throat is too sensitive to tolerate their presence.
Also, some people may be able to wear dentures at first, only to notice later that sores have developed in their mouth. This is a painful problem with dentures that often panics some people when they first notice it. The sores are usually not as severe as a person assumes them to be, but they can still get infected, and
they definitely hurt.
Denture sores are caused by plastic constantly rubbing on mouth tissue.
The human jaw bone needs requires the presence of teeth and tooth roots to maintain its size, shape, and vitality. Tooth roots send vibrations into the jaw every time a person bites down on something. This stimulates bone growth and optimizes bone health.
Naturally, when a person loses one or more teeth, a corresponding amount of bone stimulation is lost as well. The jaw immediately begins to shrink as a result. The biggest problem with dentures is they do nothing to reverse this problem. Dentures, unlike cosmetic dental implants, do not have tooth roots that can integrate into the jawbone and keep it lively with vibrations.
As the bone recedes, the denture becomes loose. Every so many months the individual has to go back to the dentist to get the denture relined. Every so many years the patient also has to have a new set of dentures made because the bone will have shifted so much by that time that the old set of false teeth will have to be entirely replaced.
This happens more rapidly with lower dentures than upper dentures. Lower dentures have a smaller base and loosen more quickly as jaw mass goes down. Shrinking jaw mass also alters the facial muscles and will cause them to droop and wrinkle prematurely.
Long term expense is another major problem with dentures. Just because dentures are relatively cheap to purchase does NOT mean that they are cheap to wear. The cost of getting them continually readjusted exceeds reasonable limits after a few years.
It is so much better to do all you can do to save your existing teeth, or work out a payment plan with us to get dental implants.