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My Blog
Posts for tag: dentures
There's no doubt about it — dentures have changed your life. Now you can eat and speak normally, and smile again with confidence. But if you're going to continue to benefit from your dentures, you'll need to take care of them. One of the best things you can do is not sleep with them in.
There are a couple of important reasons why you should take your dentures out when you go to bed. First, dentures tend to compress the bony ridges of the gums that support them. This contributes to the loss of the underlying bone, an occurrence common with missing teeth. Wearing dentures around the clock can accelerate this bone loss, which eventually loosens your denture fit.
Constant denture wearing also contributes to mouth conditions conducive to dental disease. You're more likely to develop tongue and denture plaque (a thin film of bacteria and food particles) that can cause gum inflammation or yeast development. The presence of the latter could also trigger a chronic response from your immune system that might make you more susceptible to other diseases.
Good oral hygiene is just as important with dentures as with natural teeth. Besides removing them at night, you should also take them out and rinse them after eating and brush them at least once a day with a soft tooth brush. And be sure to use regular dish or hand soap (especially antibacterial) or denture cleanser — toothpaste is too abrasive for denture surfaces.
It's also a good habit to store your dentures in water or, better, an alkaline peroxide solution. This will help deter plaque and yeast development. And don't forget the rest of your mouth: brush your tongue and gums with a very soft toothbrush (different from your denture brush) or clean them off with a damp cloth.
Taking care of your dentures will ensure two things. You'll lower your risk for disease — and you'll also help extend your dentures' life and fit.
If you would like more information on caring for your dentures, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation.
Not long ago, the most affordable option for total tooth loss was a removable denture. Dentures, prosthetic (false) teeth set in gum-colored acrylic plastic bases, can effectively restore function and appearance. But the appliance continues to have one major drawback: it can accelerate bone loss in the jaw.
Like other living tissues, older bone cells die and become absorbed into the body (resorption). Normally they're replaced by newer cells. The forces generated when we chew our food travel through the teeth to stimulate this new growth. This stimulus ends when we lose our teeth, and so cell replacement can slow to an abnormal rate. Eventually, this causes bone loss.
Removable dentures can't provide this stimulation. In fact, the pressure generated as they compress the gums' bony ridges can even accelerate bone loss. That's why over time a denture's fit can become loose and uncomfortable — the bone has shrunk and no longer matches the contours of the dentures.
In recent years, though, a new development has been able to provide greater support to dentures while at the same time slowing or even stopping bone loss. We can now support dentures with dental implants.
Implants are best known as individual tooth replacements: a titanium metal post replaces the root, while a life-like porcelain crown attaches to the post to replace the visible tooth. In addition to providing a longer-lasting alternative to removable dentures, implants provide a very important health benefit: they improve bone density because they mimic the function of natural teeth. Bone cells are naturally attracted to the titanium; they adhere to the titanium post and are stimulated to grow through the action of chewing, increasing bone density and securing the implant's hold in the jaw.
Using the same technology we can support removable dentures, or even full fixed bridges. Rather than rest directly on the bony ridges, a denture can make a secure connection through a coupling system with just a few strategically placed implants. We can also permanently attach a full bridge by fastening it to a few implants with screws.
Not only do we eliminate the pressure from dentures compressing the gums and bone tissue, we can actually stimulate bone growth with the implants. Although more costly upfront than traditional dentures, unlike traditional dentures which must be replaced every five to seven years, long-lasting implants may be more cost-effective over the long-run.
If you would like more information on implant-supported tooth replacement, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “New Teeth in One Day.”