Treatment For Loose Dentures

One of the greatest issues denture wearers face is loose dentures. A denture that does not fit properly can be a real irritant for the wearer, since it does not instil any confidence in the purposes it is supposed to serve. Simply talking Exuberantly or laughing can cause the dentures to dislodge, while eating with these dentures can be a real task. Having your dentures get dislodged or even fall out in public can be an embarrassing situation.

So what is the reason behind dentures becoming loose and what can be done about them?

Let’s deal with them one by one.

Why Do Dentures Become Loose?

Very few people know that the very act of wearing complete dentures transmits forces onto the underlying jaw bone which causes them to recede over time and become markedly different from the dimensions they once were.

This change will obviously result in a denture that does not fit like it used to and the result will be a prosthesis that is no longer able to generate the suction that a close fitting denture will be able to.

To be clear, even if no dentures are worn, a toothless area of the jaw will slowly get destroyed over a period of time because that part of the bone specifically exists to support the teeth. Only the presence of implants will help preserve this bone and not any other kind of prosthesis.

What Is The Best Solution For Loose Dentures?

Dental Implants

There are several options that patients can explore depending upon their finances, medical health, and inclination, however, all things considered, getting implants to help support the denture is the best option.

People are often worried about the cost of dental implants, however, they cost less than what many people imagine. For one thing, an implant-supported denture can easily exist on 2 or 4 implants. These implants can be placed in areas where the remaining bone is too short to provide adequate support to the dentures and create "locks" through which the dentures are stabilized.

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Implant-supported dentures have become extremely popular over the last few years because of the tremendous advantages they offer. To be clear, the patient will still need to remove the denture every day like they used to. An implant supported denture is NOT a fixed prosthesis and should not be used as such.

It is generally seen that the lower denture is the one that becomes loose more often than the upper one because the amount of bone available to provide support in the lower jaw is lesser. The palate helps provide a large base for the upper denture to take support from.

The kind of bone though makes it imperative that a minimum of two implants be placed in the lower jaw and four in the upper jaw for an implant-supported denture to be successful. The only contraindication to this recommendation would be people who have been deemed medically unfit to undergo the procedure.

Options To Correct Loose Dentures

Relining The Old Denture

There is a large population of people around the world who are perfectly happy using their conventional denture and have no interest in getting implants. Their only complaint is that the fit of their dentures is not what it used to be. These people are often those who have been wearing dentures successfully for a long time, sometimes as much as a decade.

For such people, the option to get their dentures relined is a good option.

Relining or refitting the denture involves a relatively straightforward process in which extra material is added to the existing denture to try and fill any voids that may have appeared over time. This can be done in two ways.

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The first is a chair-side relining technique which is quick but short lasting. Here the existing dentures are filled with a quick setting material that attaches to the dentures and then used to take impressions inside the mouth.

This additional material will flow wherever the gaps were and should, in theory, improve the fit of the denture. This is a good option for people that have been given a temporary denture up until their jaws are ready to receive a final prosthesis like soon after a series of extractions.

The other option is to get relining done that is done in the dental laboratory. This is where the initial denture was also fabricated. The procedure involves recording impressions with the denture in place and then sending this denture to the laboratory.

The technicians will then add permanent material to the denture to improve the fit of the dentures. Relining is an excellent option to increase the life of an existing denture provided it is still considered usable by the doctor.

For example, the teeth of a denture too may get worn out with constant use and this not something that is usually repairable.

Certain dentures require "re-basing", which is basically an extension of the relining procedure in cases where the change in dimension is excessive.

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Denture Adhesives

This may sound obvious and something that patients would have tried prior to anything else but it is often noted that patients are not aware that these denture adhesives exist and the difference that they can make.

For a denture that is well made or well maintained but resting on a bone that is very low in height, denture adhesives can be a good adjunct to help make the patients feel more comfortable.

Conclusion

Treating loose dentures can be a complicated thing for the doctors particularly if the patients are not willing for dental implants. The frequency with which dentures become loose also varies and so some individuals may require relining frequently while others may not require it for a decade or even longer.

If all of the above-mentioned methods fail then the patient may have to start from scratch and get a new denture made. Sometimes this can be the most time saving and long lasting treatment for loose dentures.