What to Expect When You Are Expecting a Denture
Traditional dentures are NOT your natural teeth. Nor are they an adequate replacement of the natural teeth in most situations. While wearing your traditional denture you most likely CANNOT:
- Bite into anything hard
- Feel the roof or your mouth
- Comfortably chew anything that cannot be cut easily with a fork
- Eat many raw vegetables
- Some people cannot even speak without one or both dentures moving/falling out
The bone that holds teeth in has one job. Maintain the natural teeth. When the natural teeth are gone, this bone begins to disappear. Over time, this will affect the fit of your denture. When you have a denture you WILL:
- Require about 1 week for every decade of life to learn to use your denture
- Lose up to 80% of chewing function
- Get food under your denture
- Feel your denture rubs the gums/bone uncomfortably from time to time
- Change the fit of your denture with weight gain/loss
- Require laboratory relines of your denture
- May notice change in the shape/look of face and lips
- May have difficulty with certain phonetic sounds commonly “F” and “S” sounds
Many of the drawbacks of traditional dentures can be resolved by including dental implants in your treatment. By attaching the dentures to dental implants you can:
- Expand the types of foods that you can comfortably eat
- Predictably keep dentures in your mouth while eating and speaking
- Prevent rubbing of denture on gums/bone
- Minimize jaw bone shrinking due to missing teeth
- Improve overall health through good nutrition
- Enjoy social gatherings/not be embarrassed by loose fitting dentures
- Feel the roof of your mouth
- Regain up to 90% of chewing function
If you want to improve your quality of life, ask us about implants.
