There are a huge amount of people who wear dentures in The United States and many of these people are not happy with them. In past generations, teeth were removed in order to avoid any dental problems in the future, however, what was not understood is the deterioration of the jawbone that follows tooth removal. Traditional dentures are a great way to give patients a way of chewing if they have no teeth but dentures are far from being ideal. They are basically floating on the gums and only held in by the balance of the tongue and cheeks. Many patients get denture sores which are small ulcers that are painful and make it difficult to eat. Dentures must get “relined” often when the jawbone deteriorates and the dentures become loose and floppy. This makes for a constant maintenance phase for these people. After speaking with many of my patients who hate dentures, these are their main concerns:
- Inability to taste food
- Difficult eating (salads, corn on the cob, ribs, cucumbers)
- Insecurity with intimate situations
- Fake “denture” look and sound
Inability to Taste Food With Dentures
Dentures replace missing teeth by placing a piece of acrylic with teeth on it on top of the gums. The dentures must be extended in all directions to get the maximum amount of contact with the gums to get a better support. This denture covers the gums and the surrounding taste buds. This is especially true in the upper jaw as the roof of the mouth must be covered with traditional dentures to help maintain a suction effect. Unfortunately many taste buds are located in the palate or “roof of the mouth” making it more difficult for patients with dentures to taste their food.
Answer: Fixed Implant Dentures help with this problem by reducing the size of the needed material because the retention is not based on the gums but now on the implants. This is especially nice in the upper jaw because we can cut out the part that covers the roof of the mouth and allows our patients to taste their food again!
Difficulty Eating with Dentures
Having dentures in your mouth is like a constant balancing act. The acrylic denture is placed on top of the gums and is balanced by the tongue and cheeks to make sure it stays in place since they are not fixed to anything. As you can imagine, this makes it very difficult to eat anything hard, chewy, small or thin. Many patients complain that they miss eating some of their favorite foods such as: ribs, corn-on-the-cob, salads, cucumbers, etc.
Answer: Implant Dentures allow for our patients to eat food normally again as if they had natural teeth. Our patients report eating food such as corn-on-the-cob and ribs with no problems! Because the teeth are fixed to the implants, the jaw can function just like it did with normal teeth without the balancing act. This gives the cheeks and tongue a break and allows them to relax.
Insecurity with Intimate Situations
Since traditional dentures are not attached to anything in the mouth, they have the possibility of falling out of the mouth! This, of course, can be very embarrassing especially in delicate situations such as kissing and intimacy. We have heard horror stories of people being in an intimate situation and having their denture fall out!
Answer: One of the most life-changing benefits of implant dentures is the ability to live your life without thinking about your teeth falling out. From blowing out your candles at your birthday party to kissing your loved ones, you can finally smile with confidence and know that your teeth are stable.
Fake “Denture” Look
Even people without dentures can usually spot people with bad dentures. The teeth are “too perfect” and all the same length making them look unnatural. Another part that people see as fake is the “pink gums” that are made with acrylic in the dental lab. Nobody wants to look like they had any treatment completed since it can be embarrassing or sensitive.
Answer: The dentist must use a great laboratory technician and do proper digital planning! This is irregardless if the treatment is traditional dentures or implant dentures that are fixed. Great communication with a high quality laboratory technician is imperative to having a beautiful confident smile! We work with only the highest quality technicians who are true artists that help our patients smile. As you can imagine, working with a high quality lab can make the treatment more costly. Although, the up front cost may be higher, you will save money in the long run by only having to have the treatment completed once in the correct manner. Our team uses the digital smile design concept to preplan all of our smiles to make sure they correctly match the face.
Posted on Behalf of Helm Nejad Stanley – Dentistry
Thanks for helping me understand the benefits of fixed denture implants. My aunt has been wearing dentures for three months now. In those months, she said that she experienced difficulty in chewing her food. After knowing about implant dentures, I’m glad to know that when my aunt uses this, she doesn’t have to worry about having to balance it out while eating. Thus, it also allows her cheeks and tongue to relax.