What Can Be Done About Loose Dentures?

How to fix loose dentures

Why do dentures become loose?

Your dentures become loose for different reasons, the most common of which is bone resorption, which is the process where your gums begin to shrink because they are no longer being used to hold your teeth in place.

Everyday wear and tear is another reason your dentures can become loose. This can be prevented by taking good care of your dentures, which means taking them out before going to bed at night and preventing damage by not chewing or biting down on hard food.

Fixing your loose dentures

There are several ways to fix your dentures when they become loose, one of which is by using a stronger denture adhesive. Your dentures are made specifically for your mouth, which means they are supposed to fit perfectly without the use of an adhesive.

If your dentures start to loosen, you should schedule an appointment with your dentist to get them fixed. Your dentist can adjust the dentures to adjust them perfectly in your mouth. However, if your bone resorption is occurring at a fast rate, you will have to see your dentist frequently for adjustments.

If you cannot see your dentist immediately, you can hold it in place with a strong adhesive, which will prevent it from moving around too much in your mouth. Before applying the adhesive to your denture, make sure it does not contain zinc because too much can cause health problems, especially if you eat a zinc-rich diet.

An alternative to getting your dentures adjusted or using adhesive is to talk to your dentist about implant-supported dentures, also known as overdentures. These are removable dentures that are more secure because the artificial teeth are anchored to your jawbone using dental implants, which are titanium posts fused to your jawbone to keep your artificial teeth securely in place.

Implants are considered a better alternative to dentures because the titanium posts in your jawbone act like your tooth root and stimulate the growth of bone, instead of reducing your bone density as dentures do.

There are two types of implant-supported dentures: bar-retained and ball-retained dentures.

Bar-retained dentures: This type of denture uses a thin metal bar that is wrapped around your jawline and is attached to two to five dental implants in your jawbone using clips
Ball-retained dentures: This type of denture requires each of the implants in your mouth to have a metal attachment that fits into a part on the denture

Conclusion

Loose dentures can make it difficult to chew food and speak properly. If you have loose dentures, you should schedule an appointment with your dentist to get them adjusted and to discuss more secure alternatives.

Schedule Your Appointment in Wethersfield, CT

Ready to schedule your visit? Call (860) 430-4388 or visit our Contact Us page. Family Dental Center of Connecticut serves patients throughout Wethersfield, CT and Hartford County.

A note on reading this

General guidance isn’t a diagnosis.

This is written to be genuinely useful, and it cannot tell you what is happening in your own mouth. Two people with identical symptoms can need completely different treatment depending on what an X-ray shows.

If something hurts right now, don’t read — call.

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