The Importance Of Preventive Dental Care At Any Age

Posted on: 2 April 2015

You've decided to get dentures to regain the functionality and beautiful smile you once had. That's great, but dentures are a major decision that affect the rest of your life. Make sure you get all the facts about dentures before you make that final decision.

Your Jaw Will Change

If you have some decayed or broken teeth in your mouth, you'll need to get them pulled before you get dentures. However, even if the tooth is dead or severely damaged, the root is still stimulating your jaw. Once the tooth is gone, however, the jaw has nothing to stimulate it and it atrophies. This causes changes to your jaw shape and structure, but don't be too worried, the change is minor, and it shouldn't drastically affect the shape of your face. In fact, if you have many missing teeth, getting dentures will improve the look of your face by adding volume in the cheeks.  

Immediate Dentures Won't Fit for Long

The great thing about immediate dentures is they can be placed as soon as your teeth are pulled. This way, you don't have to be without teeth for any amount of time. However, because removing your teeth changes the shape of your jaw, it does affect how the immediate dentures fit. While immediate dentures will fit fine in the beginning, they will become too lose as your jaw shrinks, affecting your speech and eating. Because of this, immediate dentures are best left as a temporary fix while you wait for conventional dentures after your gum has healed.

There Will Be an Adjustment Period

At first, talking and eating will be difficult. You won't be used to the dentures, so you may speak with a slur and eating may seem impossible. In some cases, people even complain that food tastes different during this adjustment period. If you are having trouble speaking, try speaking more slowly, and when you eat, cut your food into small pieces, and eat on both sides of your mouth at once. Luckily, the adjustment period doesn't last long, and when it's over, you have more functionality than you ever had with all those missing teeth.  

You Can't Eat Everything You Used To Eat

During the adjustment period, it's better to stick to soft foods and work your way up to more complicated foods as you and your jaw muscles learn to use the dentures properly. However, even after the adjustment period, there are some foods you just can't eat anymore. The most complicated foods are sticky foods and foods that require hard biting with your front teeth, such as corn on the cob and apples.

They Will Move and Slip

Although it will get better as you adjust to the dentures, they will still move and slip sometimes. In fact, they may even fall out if you laugh hard. There are pastes and adhesive strips designed to help keep your dentures in place better, but if you notice your dentures are moving a lot, take a trip to your dentist to make sure your dentures fit correctly.

Implant-Supported Dentures Are an Option

Conventional and immediate dentures are removable, which causes most of the problems associated with dentures. However, there is a non-removable solution: implant-supported dentures. These dentures are held in place with a titanium root, which sits in your jaw. They are more durable and sturdy than traditional dentures, and they won't slip. They are not a good option for people with gum disease, and they are expensive, averaging about $34,000 for a full upper and lower set.

You don't have to suffer with missing teeth any longer. Dentures are a great solution because they give you back most functionality and appearance. For more information about dentures, contact a local dentist today.