At Borbely Swiss, we craft custom-made dentures designed to fit perfectly in your mouth. There are a lot of reasons that we work with such exacting detail – it’s not just for our patients’ comfort.
You see, poorly-fitted dentures are a serious health hazard. They’re also much more prone to damage. In this article, we’re going to look at why poorly-fitted dentures can cause so many problems. There’s a lot to cover, so let’s dive right in:
Poorly-fitted dentures and health problems
Our patients get dentures to improve their overall health. Poorly-fitted dentures, however, can negatively affect your overall health – and that’s the opposite of what we want.
Difficulty chewing and speaking
New dentures take time to adjust to – for most patients, it takes about a month to get comfortable. Poorly-fitted dentures will continue to cause discomfort for more than a month. They’re prone to slipping, which can make chewing and speaking difficult.
Poorly fitted dentures can also cause inflammation, infections, and more. Those things can cause a lot of discomfort, making chewing and speaking even more difficult. Difficulty speaking can negatively affect your mental health, while difficulty chewing can lead to gastrointestinal problems and nutritional difficulties.
Inflammation and sores
When your dentures don’t fit right, they can rub up uncomfortably against your jaws. Eventually, this irritation can cause inflammation and even sores.
Again, these problems aren’t uncommon for new denture wearers, though you should find discomfort and sores start to subside within about two weeks. If there’s consistent discomfort, we offer denture relines, which adjust the lining of your dentures to better fit your gums.
Infections
The inflammation and sores caused by your chafing gums leave you more prone to infection. To make matters worse, dentures that aren’t properly fitted become harder to clean, as more food particles can become stuck on your dentures.
Bacteria, yeast, and other microorganisms love food. That means people with ill-fitting dentures are much more prone to problems like denture stomatitis. Infections can wreak havoc on your health. If you suspect you have one, visit your denturist right away.
Bone resorption and cyclical damage
Bone resorption is a natural process – our bodies absorb bone while simultaneously rejuvenating that bone through a process known as ossification. When you’re missing teeth, the ossification process in your jaw slows (or stops altogether), which can lead to bone loss.
While certain dentures (like implant dentures) can help stimulate ossification, ill-fitting dentures actually stimulate resorption. Inflammation can lead to a faster rate of bone resorption. That, in turn, changes the shape of your jaw and gums – which can make your dentures fit even worse.
That cyclical damage can cause serious problems very quickly, so if your dentures are ever uncomfortable, visit our denturist in Winnipeg right away.
Poorly-fitted dentures and denture damage
We’ve established that poorly fitted dentures can cause serious health problems – and things only get worse from there. Poorly-fitted dentures can also damage themselves. You can see why they’re such a serious concern!
Dentures that slip and fall out
When your dentures don’t fit right, they’re more likely to fall out of your mouth. Dentures are built to sustain a lot of force – you can even use them to bite down on hard candy – but they’re not built to fall onto the floor.
In the best-case scenario, you might end up with relatively little damage – a chipped tooth or two. Worst case? Your denture splits in half.
The one good thing about ill-fitted dentures falling out is that you’ll be more or less forced to go see your denturist. They’ll realize what happened and adjust your dentures. Of course, the best thing to do is avoid the fees for repairs altogether and just go see your denturist if your dentures aren’t fitting right.
Structural weakness in your dentures
When dentures don’t fit properly, force isn’t distributed throughout the denture the way it’s supposed to be. You’ll bite down, and your dentures will be prone to bending in the areas where they’re not fully attached to your gums – usually toward the middle.
These micro bends can eventually become breaks, and it’s common to see ill-fitted dentures cracked right through the middle. That’s an expensive repair – just another reason not to grin and bear it when your dentures are uncomfortable.
Dealing with poorly-fitted dentures
You’ve read through this article, so you probably know what we’re going to say: If your dentures don’t fit right, go see your denturist right away.
Your health and your dentures are at stake.
