Can Dentures Ever Get Knocked Out of Place?
By Murad Rashid | Published on January 14, 2011 | 0 Comments
Although conventional dentures can get knocked out of place, it would take a whole lot of force to do so, says Dr. Murad Rashid of the Dentist Place in Clearwater, Florida. Dentures are made to be resilient, and it is difficult to get a good fitting set out of a patient’s mouth without some effort.
Of course, Dr. Rashid emphasizes the fact that obviously, anything can happen with a removable appliance. If a patient wants something that is more difficult to remove, then he should look into more of a permanent solution, such as a fixed implant or a fixed bridge. Nonetheless, dentures that fit well in a patient’s mouth are unlikely be knocked out without some type of major trauma going on.
When a denture does come loose, Dr. Rashid says that is usually a sign that it was already loose to begin with. A denture that fits perfect one day will not always necessarily fit perfectly every day after that. Things like weight gain and weight loss can significantly change the shape of the mouth, leading implants that once fit perfectly to start being somewhat misaligned.
The gums are just like any other part of the body, explains Dr. Rashid, in that they expand and contract depending on a number of factors. These factors include, but are not limited to, weight gain and loss, water retention, and certain medications. Patients who take hypertension medications, for example, frequently need to have their dentures realigned.
In order to make conventional dentures as secure as possible, Dr. Rashid recommends that patients come in for at least a yearly checkup to have their dentures assessed and potentially adjusted if need be. Some people assume that they do not need to visit the dentist regularly once they no longer have teeth, but Dr. Rashid still recommends yearly evaluations.
What frequently happens, says Dr. Rashid, is that patients will fall into the trap of just using more glue or more adhesives to keep their dentures in place once they begin coming loose. This is never a solution that works out well in the long run, Dr. Rashid says, and it can become a nightmare to deal with dentures if this is allowed to go on for an extended period of time.
Rather than using endless tubes and jars of glues and adhesives, Dr. Rashid recommends that patients who wear dentures come in for regular dental checkups. This way, patients can also have their mouths assessed for signs of periodontal disease at the same time.
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