What Causes Some Denture Wearers To Experience Discomfort?

While some people are satisfied with dentures, others find wearing them to be more challenging.

If you’ve worn dentures for a while and are a typical denture wearer, it is likely that your experience of them has been along the following lines. Initially, there is relief when you see no more gaps in your teeth. This is followed by a period of adjusting to eating with them and, in some cases, dealing with excessive saliva production as your mouth becomes accustomed.

After this initial period, there is every chance that you are pleased that you had them and, whilst not ideal, feel that they offer a more than acceptable substitute for your missing teeth. After a while though, things can start to change and you notice that some foods are becoming more difficult to eat as your dentures no longer feel as stable as they used to do and you might experience some discomfort too. This is quite a common experience which we will discuss in today’s Foxhall Dental Practice blog.

Initial experience

Provided that you have used a dentist in the UK and not taken a chance abroad, your initial measurements should have been accurately taken and, although they may feel a little unusual initially, your dentures should be a good fit. As previously indicated, there are likely to be a few initial adjustments as you get used to them, but after a while, you will probably feel quite pleased with your new replacement teeth. However, a while later things can start to go awry.

Looseness

The first problem that denture wearers tend to notice is that their dentures start to move. Initially, this may be quite minimal before becoming more pronounced. Even at the early stages when movement is not visible, there can be a little awareness that things are not quite right. This might lead to some caution about what wearers choose to eat, perhaps selecting fish over a chewy steak for example. As the dentures become looser, this becomes more pronounced and eating many foods can present its challenges. In addition to difficulties in eating, loose dentures can move around when speaking, leading to some embarrassment, and can also cause significant discomfort as they rub against the gums, making them sore.

Why do dentures become loose?

It is very common for patients to claim that the problem might be the dentures themselves, and in some cases it may just be this. In most cases though, it is something entirely different and something which many of our Ipswich patients may not be aware of.

When a tooth has been lost, the body starts to reabsorb the minerals from that area as they are no longer needed to secure the tooth in place. That means that both the bone and gums start to be reabsorbed into the body. This causes small but significant changes in the shape of your face. Especially if your dentures have been fitted soon after tooth loss your dentures may not fit as well as they did initially. The more the reabsorption takes place, the looser and more uncomfortable your dentures may become.

Are there other options available to replace missing teeth?

If you continue to wear dentures, there are adhesives that can help secure them in place, to a degree at least. These can be messy though and is one more additional thing to do before you go out. If you don’t apply it correctly, it can also get into the mouth and feel a little unpleasant.

There is another option if you wish to continue wearing dentures and that is to have them stabilised using dental implants. A few implants, strategically placed, can be a very good way of keeping your dentures stable and secure. If you are going to consider this though, then individual or multiple dental implant placements might be the best option for you.

Placing a dental implant does provide a very high level of strength and stability but they do require minor oral surgery.

What are dental implants?

Dental implants are the nearest thing that is currently available to a natural tooth. The unique thing about them is that, unlike dentures or a bridge, they not only replace the crown part of the tooth but also the tooth root. It is this ‘root’, in the form of an implant, that is placed into the bone in the jaw. This is then left for approximately three months while the implant and bone fuse together to create a strong anchor upon which a crown is fitted. Once this is done, and with a good oral health routine, you will have a strong and secure replacement tooth without the need for messy adhesives and inconvenient and uncomfortable denture movement.

We understand that some of our Ipswich patients might feel a little unsure about undergoing an invasive treatment and especially one that they might be unfamiliar with. We are always happy to discuss the procedure in more detail with you and the best way to do this is to arrange to have a consultation with our implant dentist. They will be able to explain this in more detail and also answer any other questions that you might have.

If you would like to investigate alternatives to your dentures then why not contact us to arrange your initial consultation? You can call the Foxhall Dental Practice today on 01473 258396.