Seeing a dentist for regular and comprehensive examinations is essential to ensure the continued proper functioning of the denture. This is also important for your overall dental health.
Regular exams evaluate a proper relationship between the upper and the lower jaws which help improve the denture’s and patient’s appearance and help provide optimal support to the facial tissues and prevent premature sagging. This ensures the temporomandibular joints (TMJs), which are the joints located in front of each ear, don’t experience unhealthy bone remodeling (which may cause improper jaw function, headaches, and neck pains). Exams also help detect serious oral conditions, such as cancer, which can then be treated in earlier stages.
The main reasons to schedule routine check-ups for your denture include:
- Your denture may loosen: The jawbone often shrinks in size due to bone resorption (gradual and continuing bone loss), which happens following the loss of all natural teeth.
- Your denture may wear: This process may be faster if the patient unconsciously grinds, or bruxes, the teeth together. Uneven and irregular tooth wear may develop if the denture shifts as it becomes loose. This may accelerate bone resorption.
- Your denture may cause sore spots: With the loosening and wear of the denture, its shifting against the underlying gum tissue frequently results in irritation and soreness of the gums. This is a gradual and continuous process that may result in progressive bone loss, thinning of overlying gum tissues, and the need to prematurely replace a denture.
Regular dental exams help detect such problems and correct them promptly to prevent damage to the dentures and/or the mouth. Treatment may involve relining or rebasing the denture. This process adds acrylic to the inside of a denture to reestablish an accurate fit. Individual denture teeth can also be treated appropriately.
