I have been wearing dentures for over twenty years. Lately, I can’t keep them in at all, even when I wear that awful adhesive stuff. I went to see a dentist who said there is hardly any ridge left where the dentures go. What do I do?
Carol
Dear Carol,
Implant Supported Dentures
I am sorry you are having to deal with this. You are in a difficult position. I don’t know how much your dentist told you about the danger of dentures when you first received them, but I hope you were given all the information so you could make an informed decision.
When your teeth are removed, your body recognizes that. Because you no longer have any teeth roots, it interprets that as you no longer needing a jawbone to keep those teeth in place. As a result, it starts to resorb the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere throughout your body. The purpose behind this is to be as efficient with your body’s resources as possible.
The downside to this is what you are facing now. Eventually, there is no longer enough bone left for you to retain your dentures any longer. This is known in dental circles as facial collapse.
Dental Implants and Facial Collapse
What you need to do now, is to have some bone grafting done. This builds back up the bone in your jawbone. Once that is done, you have two choices.
Option one is to have new dentures made. It is the least expensive option but does have the downside of the facial collapse cycle starting all over again. If you want to prevent bone loss altogether, I would suggest option two.
Option two is to have dental implants placed. You can do four to six dental implants and then have your denture anchored to them. This is sometimes called implant overdentures (see image above). Because it uses prosthetic tooth roots, your body senses the implants and thinks you have teeth, thereby leaving your jawbone intact.
Best of luck to you.
This blog is brought to you by Libertyville Dentist Dr. David Potts.