One of the things that people fear most about getting dentures is the way their face may shrink as a result. With smaller bones, they end up with excess skin that sags and folds, sinking in around the mouth, cheeks, eyes and other places.
Although some amount of bone loss is inevitable, here are five good strategies that you can use to reduce the loss of bone and the shrinking of your face.
1 – Supporting Dentures with Teeth
If you don’t remove all your teeth, you’re not going to experience as much bone loss. The teeth you retain can not only hold your dentures in place, but they can also continue to stimulate your jaw bone, keeping it healthy and firm to support your skin.
But this strategy is limited because it isn’t always advisable to retain some of your natural teeth. If they’re cracked, infected, threatened by gum disease, or otherwise unable to perform the job of supporting your dentures, then they’ll have to go.
And you can’t use this strategy if you’ve already had your teeth pulled.
2 – Implant Dentures
Next to natural teeth, dental implants are the best way to support your jawbone to prevent it from being lost. And for most people they’re better, because you get a chance to start fresh. Bone grafts can help make sure there’s good support for the implants, and they can be placed to provide optimal support for your dentures, rather than just being where your natural teeth happened to be in the best shape. Implant dentures also let you bite and chew normally. This makes it easier to eat a balanced diet that supports healthy bones. And with our new digital dental implant system, the process is easier than ever.
But implant dentures may not completely prevent bone loss, and if they’re poorly fitted, you might see more bone loss than you’d like.
3 – Improve Denture Fit
Poorly fitted dentures don’t just allow bone loss — they can speed it up. When you are biting down in a way that irritates your gums, the odds are good that you’re also irritating bone, which can lead to accelerated bone loss. There are two main mechanisms your body uses to determine which bone to maintain. First, it responds to the positive stimuli of teeth that tell your body the bone is needed. Next, it responds to negative stimuli, such as excessive pressure or irritation, to determine what bone to remove. Without teeth and with irritation, your bone might be removed much more quickly.
That’s why it’s crucial to have good fit with your dentures. Neuromuscular dentistry helps us measure your bite properly so dentures don’t just sit inside your mouth, they are designed to fully fit your bite, which is what makes the fit of FOY® Dentures so good.
4 – Get Good Nutrition
Your body needs good nutrition to help maintain your bone — the same way it needs nutrition to heal bone. The best way to get good nutrition is to eat a varied diet that includes meats, vegetables, fruits, and other nutritious unprocessed foods.
This can be a bit of a challenge, though, if you don’t have properly fitting dentures or dentures with dental implants to support them.
5 – Wear Your Dentures Less
We hate to even bring this up because it seems like admitting defeat. Having to live without your dentures whenever you’re at home and only putting them on when you go out can really impact your quality of life.
But if your dentures are so poorly fitted that they’re speeding bone loss, then it’s the only good option.
Don’t live with dentures you can only wear sometimes. To learn more about quality dentures in Sydney that can help reduce bone loss and other complications of poorly fitting dentures, please call (02) 9686 7375 for an appointment with a denture dentist at My Hills Dentist in Baulkham Hills.
