One of the complaints many people have about their dentures
is that even if they fit properly at first, they soon begin to lose their fit. This is due to bone loss in the jaw.
Your dentures are fitted to your jaw as it is at the time of fitting, but over time you will lose bone in your jaw, which means that your dentures won’t fit as well as they used to. This is normally taken care of by “relining” your dentures, adding extra plastic to the base of the denture so it fits with your new jawbone.
What Causes Bone Loss
Bone loss occurs naturally in response to the loss of your teeth. We explain bone resorption in detail here. In short, once your teeth are removed, your body thinks you don’t need your jawbone anymore and removes bone from it.
Stopping and Slowing Bone Loss
At this point, there is no way we can really stop bone loss. Dental implants can be used to stimulate the jawbone, but they only stimulate it in their immediate area. This means that unless you get an implant in place of each tooth, which is not generally done, you will experience some amount of bone loss.
In addition to dental implants, better-fitting dentures can slow bone loss. Dentures can actually make bone loss worse if they’re not fitted properly. Excessive force can restrict blood flow and lead to more bone loss. Balanced forces reduce stress on the jawbone and mean you will have lower rates of bone loss.
How Often Have You Been Refitting Your Dentures?
Refitting dentures is normal. It has to be done periodically because we cannot stop the loss of bone. It’s normal to have to refit your dentures in the first six months, but it should slow after that. If you are having to refit your dentures more often than six months, or still have to refit your dentures every six months after the first time, your dentures are not fitted properly.
Sore spots and discomfort from your dentures is another good sign that your dentures are not fitted properly. If you get multiple sore spots from wearing your dentures, you should talk to a new denture dentist about getting better-fitting dentures.
FOY® are designed to be better-fitting dentures using a more scientific process and a neuromuscular approach that gives them a better balance of forces. To learn how they can help you, contact a FOY® Denture dentist near you today.