Dentures
When a patient no longer has any natural teeth, complete dentures are the traditional method to restore function and appearance. Many patients experience difficulty wearing conventional dentures because of poor stability and decreased chewing function. The use of dental implants to improve the stability and retention of dentures is becoming quite popular. With or without teeth, your mouth slowly changes as you age. But people who have no teeth on average lose 1/3 mm of jawbone height each year. Sometimes that loss is greater due to certain medical conditions such as osteoporosis. As our jawbone shrinks, so do our gum tissues (sometimes referred to as ridges). Ridges can shrink up to a quarter-inch in 10 years. When teeth are lost and gum tissues shrink, some facial support is lost. This explains why people with no teeth often have deep wrinkles around the mouth and a sunken look to their cheeks. A new denture may: help you look better by providing the support your lips need, and by giving your face and smile a more natural appearance, help you speak clearly once again, enhance your chewing ability, helping your body properly digest food and obtain the nutrition it needs, help you feel better about yourself.