Approximately 40 million adults nationally are missing all their teeth, based on statistics from the American College of Prosthodontics. This is a serious issue, as missing teeth can greatly impact your daily life in terms of speech, eating, and more. But dentures in Topeka and Silver Lake can provide a solution that allows you to talk, eat, and laugh once again. However, recent research shows dentures might actually have a negative impact on your body’s overall nutrition! Keep reading to learn more about how they can potentially inhibit your body’s ability to absorb nutrients, and how supporting them with implants might be a viable solution to this problem.
The Relationship Between Dentures and Chewing Force
Traditional dentures are held in place with an acrylic gum-colored adhesive material; they rest on the gums and obtain their functional support through their shape and how they cover the jawbones. The upper denture also uses suction to stay in place, while the lower denture requires muscle control. This is how your dentures can effectively look, move, and function like your missing natural teeth.
However, because dentures are removable and not naturally affixed to anything inside your mouth, they can easily become loose when you speak, eat, or move your jaw. This means the amount of chewing force your mouth can apply is severely limited and you can’t effectively bite, tear, or grind certain foods like chewy meats, crisp fruits and veggies, starchy items like bread and potatoes, and more.
How Does Chewing Force Impact Nutrition?
Chewing is the first step of the digestive process. The physical force of crushing food into smaller pieces combined with the powerful digestive enzymes found in your saliva helps your stomach break everything down. However, studies show chewing your food for a shorter period and swallowing larger particles impairs your body’s ability to absorb nutrients which can lead to malnutrition. It’s also a choking hazard. So, dentures negatively impact your nutritional intake through the reduction of your chewing force!
How Can Implant-Supported Dentures Help Me?
Fortunately, dental implants can provide a solution for dentures that greatly restores your chewing force! If you’re already familiar with dental implants, you know they can completely rebuild your smile by replacing missing teeth and supporting your jawbone; they help your dentures out in a similar manner. They can provide a strong interlocking connection between your dentures and jaws.
This setup yields several advantages; not only does it maintain your dentures in the correct position over your jawbones, but it also provides them with additional support and stability which in turn restores your chewing force. This means that you’ll be back to thoroughly chewing your food again and absorbing plenty of vitamins and nutrients.
Even though dentures are meant to help your smile, you shouldn’t disregard the fact they can inhibit your body from absorbing necessary nutrition. For your well-being, ask your dentist if implant-supported dentures are a viable solution for your smile!
About the Author
Dr. Michael Michel has been providing high-quality dental care to his patients for nearly 40 years now. He earned his dental doctorate from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Dr. Michel was a proud recipient of the Harry M. Klenda Award from the Kansas Dental Association and he’s a member of the American Dental Association. If you are interested in an upgrade to your dentures via dental implants in Topeka and Silver Lake, schedule a consultation on his website or call (785) 273-0801.