Do Your Dentures Pop Out and Have Difficulty
Staying in Place?
Emotional and Psychological
Distress
Improper fit or unnatural-looking
dentures can make it difficult and embarrassing to speak, eat and
socialize.
Poor
Fit
Loose or improper fitting
dentures can cause excessive friction between the soft tissues and
the dentures, resulting in sore spots that may become infected.
Poor
Chewing Ability
A denture that doesn't
fit or teeth that don't function effectively can make it difficult
to chew food properly. As a result, many nutritious and harder-to-chew
foods may be eliminated from the diet. In these cases, digestion
and overall good health are affected.
Premature
Aging
Inferior denture teeth
can wear excessively. This "shortening" of the teeth
leads to a shortening of the face. That will increase the
wrinkles around your mouth, cheeks and chin. The end result? You
look older.
Over time, the ridge
tissue will shrink, no longer supporting the denture like it should. An
unstable denture can make the ridges shrink even more and at a
faster rate.
Joint and
Jaw Disorders
Excessive denture tooth
wear and "shortening" of the ridges may cause improper
support and function which can upset the jaw mechanism. This
can, in extreme cases, lead to a temporo mandibular joint (TMJ)
disorder. TMJ can be characterized by pain in the jaw, neck,
head, and/or shoulders.
New Denture
Bases
Over time, your ridges
will naturally shrink as the bone recedes and supporting tissues
change. This change will be more rapid with some patients
than with others and is affected by the condition of your health
and the protective care of your ridges. When this resorption
progresses to the point where your dentures are too loose, or
your
facial appearance starts to change for the worse, it's time to
have your dentures rebased, relined, or remade.
Did you know that your
dentures need to be replaced at least every 3 years?
This should be no surprise! Would you expect clothes, that you
wore all day, everyday, to last 20 years? Even if they do, there
would definitely be considerable
wear and tear. Certainly, they would not fit in the same way
they once did. You should expect no less from your dentures!
- The gums and ridges of your mouth change over time while dentures
do not.
- A denture cannot do its job properly for more than 3 years.
- Wearing the same dentures for more than 3 years can cause
changes in your mouth that are often irreversible. For instance,
a bad fitting denture can cause the ridges to shrink faster. Therefore,
the denture becomes loose. In that case, it
then becomes that more difficult to fit future dentures.
Did
you know...
- loose dentures
can cause sore spots that may become infected? This
is because of excessive, uneven or unbalanced contact between your
soft tissues and your dentures.
- dentures can change
shape or discolor if they dry out? When you remove
your dentures for prolonged periods of time, keep them in a covered
container filled with water.
- dentures can warp
if placed in boiling water? Always rinse and store
your dentures in cold or lukewarm water.
Most importantly, remove
your dentures each night or at least for a few hours a day to allow
the tissue and oral structures supporting the dentures to rest.
Just as you remove shoes, glasses or clothing when you go to bed,
so should you remove your dentures. You were not born
with them and it is unhealthy to wear them all the time. It
has been proven that patients who never remove their dentures have
a higher risk of oral cancer, an increased bacterial count in the
mouth and excessive damage to the tissue and ridges that result
in a loss of fit.
Annual Examination
At least once a year,
your should make an appointment with your dentist for a thorough
examination of your entire mouth. Such an examination provides
your dentist with an opportunity to correct any problems that may
have appeared due to natural and progressive changes in your oral
structures that can cause shifting of the dentures, undue pressure
on supporting ridges, or damage to oral structures and bony projections.
This step is crucial to maintaining correct alignment of your
dentures as well as good oral health and healthy ridges. At that
time, we also recommend an annual oral cancer screening. In
addition, regular professional cleaning and polishing will help
to prevent
disagreeable tastes and odors from forming on your dentures.
