I have dentures and I’m having the hardest time adjusting to them. Not only do they feel weird, but the dentures don’t go all the way back. I don’t have wisdom teeth there any more and I’m essentially chewing on my gums. I was hoping there was a way to get my dentist to fix this, but he said he put them the standard distance. I just want to double check. Is that accurate? Will I ever get used to these dentures?
Michael
Dear Michael,
Thank you for writing. While dentures have a lot of problems and some people never get used to them, this is something that is within the ability of your dentist to fix. My guess is that you’ve already paid for these and he doesn’t want to re-do them, which is what he’d have to do in order to fix them. It is fixable. Plus, what he did is not the standard procedure.
Your denture should actually cover the wisdom tooth area plus go just a smidge past that onto what is known as the retromolar pad. You don’t want it to go too far onto the pad, otherwise, the lower denture will cause problems with the fit of the upper denture.
You may not have much leverage if you’ve already paid for it, but you could appeal to his ethics and quality of his work. Feel free to show him this post if it helps.
Before you move forward, I will tell you that even with the dentures being extended, you will have problems. Even the best fitting dentures will reduce your chewing capacity by 50%.
There is a bigger issue, though. I don’t know if your dentist mentioned about the issue of facial collapse, but it is very important you understand the risks of long term use of completely removable dentures. Once your teeth were removed, your body instantly recognized that you no longer have any teeth roots. In an effort to be as efficient as possible with your body’s resources, it takes the minerals from the jaw bone where you no longer have any roots and resorbs them in order to use those minerals elsewhere in your body where they will be more useful to your body. The human body is absolutely amazing.
Unfortunately, this has the side effect of slowly shrinking your jawbone. After about ten or so years, you will no longer have enough jawbone left to even keep your dentures in. This is known as facial collapse.
There is a way to prevent this. It requires you to get about four to eight dental implants, then have your dentures anchored to them. This is known as implant supported dentures. Not only will it prevent facial collapse, but it is also will dramatically improve your quality of life. Your chewing capacity will increase and you’ll have no slipping and sliding around in your mouth.
If you are going to replace your denture and you can afford to get dental implants, I strongly suggest that you get them. If you can’t afford them right now, then replace the dentures, but do the best you can to save up for the implants, because eventually dentures will not be an option.
This blog is brought to you by Lexington, KY Dentist Dr. J. E. Williams.