Advice On Loose Dentures | Why are my dentures loose? | What is the cause? | What can be done? | Do i need a new set?

As people age their body, hair, skin, face and mouth change but guess what, the dentures stay the same and miss the boat to change with us humans as they are a solid material made to the shape of the gums at the time.

Why are my dentures loose?

Dentures in general are a very complex type of product and rely on sitting accurate over the shape of your gums to serve its purpose. Overtime dentures can become loose due to the gum shrinking and loss of bone thus changing the shape. This is due to the denture sitting on the gums and compressing the gums, over time this can cause discomfort as they place pressure on the gums and rub against them thus creating a painful experience.

Also there could be issues with the denture it self, if you have had teeth extracted this would cause the gums to change and heal to a different shape where the teeth once was, thus changing the way the dentures now sits. The extensions of the dentures if over extended can also be interfered with e.g the tongue pushing the lower denture away rather than sitting next to it or the upper denture having your cheeks pushing the denture down rather than gently caressing the denture thus interfering when you speak.

What is the cause?

Gum shrinking or bone loss, they are major players in causing loose dentures as it changes the shape and the height of the gum, this means when your set of dentures were made, they were made to the old shape of your gums not the new shape that gum shrinking has caused.

Gum shrinking occurs more on the lower jaw due to the force of biting down with you’re dentures e.g when eating. If you bite together and your dentures are not seated to the correct shape of your gums, it starts to rock back and forth and push onto other areas to compensate for its loss of positions, imagine a see-saw rocking back and forth. This then results in rubbing in certain areas and creates sore spots which then makes the loose denture become a painful loose denture .

Which also speeds up the process of gum shrinkage over time or as stated above, the extensions of the denture are overlapping onto muscles in your mouth are causing the denture to dislodge when speaking and eating rather than be at the correct extension to avoid dis-lodgement, which could have nothing to do with gum shrinkage.

Sometimes if you have cleaned your dentures in hot boiling water this can cause the denture to wrap as it is a plastic material. If a denture is left out of the mouth for a long period of time, the shape of the gums will start to change and denture will become dry and distort .

What can be done?

Firstly, book an appointment to have a CDT or a dentist look at your dentures and gums ( Contact our Denture Clinic) then they may give you an option of adjusting extensions or relining the denture (altering the denture), this basically is adding new material to bottom of your dentures to the new shape of your gums thus giving a tighter and secure fit around the new shape of your gums. If the denture is loose, worn with loads of issues then you may want to consider a new denture as an option due to a combination of issues.

Denture adhesives like fixodent ( Fixodent) can also help in stabilizing the denture, although this does not make it fit accurately as the underneath surface is not altered. It adds a sticky layer between the new shape of gum and the surface of the denture to create a temporary bond between the old denture and new gums.

Implants is usually the best solution (Click here to find out more) by adding titanium screws into the jaw . If you can imagine a stud button on a jacket clicking together. Implants work exactly like this but more complex they connect the dentures to the implant and make the denture sit on top of the implant rod or bar rather than relying on the gums, this gives a more secure and stable denture experience.

Do I need a new set?

This depends on your budget, time, adaptability and severity of how loose the dentures are. Some patients can not simply afford new dentures (Click here to find out why you can afford new dentures) and may wish to have their current denture relined, (click here for cost of a denture reline). Some patients cannot make time for appointments for a new denture to be made (usually 6 appointments at 30 mins each) or the biggest point of all they are used to their current denture, want nothing but their current denture and a new denture is not worth the aggravation.

It really depends on the person, the list can go on. Professionally speaking, the benefits of new dentures can dramatically improve the fit of the dentures by being more accurate, secure and stable which means eating and speaking become a confident experience. It also improves the diet and general well being by improving chewing function by having securely fitting dentures. Other benefits are improvement in cosmetic appearance and hygiene to find out more Click here to find out more about Swissedent Dentures.

Swissedent | Denture Clinic | Walthamstow | London | E17 | 0203 489 2055 | [email protected]