Some people may lose weight after getting dentures because they eat less initially. Once a person becomes accustomed to their dentures, they can easily return to eating a healthy diet made up of their favourite foods.
The short answer is yes, dentures can definitely change the shape of your face. But if you've been missing teeth or dealing with bad, ill-fitting dentures, the change may be for the better.
Advantages of Dentures
They provide a cohesive look and provide you with a radiant smile. Dentures can even affect the appearance of your entire face. When you have missing teeth, your face can appear sunken in. Getting dentures near you will help your face appear fuller and livelier.
It can take a few weeks to adjust to dentures, but once your mouth is strong, you can eat just about any food. There will always be some foods that aren't denture-friendly, like chewing gum, popcorn, whole nuts, steak, and sticky candy.
You may stop cooking because it's not as fun when you can't taste things. And you might eat less overall. Because of these changes to eating, many denture wearers may experience weight gain, weight loss, and, sometimes, malnutrition. But you can still have a healthy diet with dentures.
Doughy foods, such as breads will stick to dentures and should be eaten with liquids. When trying to eat a sandwich, cookies or any other food that is generally bitten down on with the front teeth and torn off, the denture can dislodge.
Hard foods: Chewing hard foods require your jaw and dentures to apply uneven pressure. This can dislodge or damage your dentures, so avoid nuts, popcorn, apples, raw carrot sticks and corn on the cob. Tough meats: Foods that require a lot of chewing place unnecessary stress on your dentures and gums.
Avoid certain foods in the beginning – When you're first learning to chew with your dentures, you should avoid eating foods that you have to bite into like pizzas and burgers. These types of foods can easily dislodge your dentures. Sticky foods might also be problematic for new denture wearers.
Complete dentures are more prevalent in those above the age of 45. They're often used for those who have lost many teeth and suffer from periodontl disease. However, keep in mind that dentures can be a solution for anyone. In some cases, dentists may recommend them for people in their 30s or even 20s.
It's usually best to save healthy natural teeth
When your natural teeth are healthy and won't compromise your oral health, it's usually best to save them. Replacing teeth with a removable appliance—a partial or full denture—has many disadvantages.
While many get their first set of false teeth between 40 and 49, the need to replace teeth becomes nearly universal as people age. However old one is or whatever the situation, using dentures to replace missing teeth can mean better speech, easier eating, a healthier face and a great smile.
In most cases, you won't be able to tell that someone is wearing dentures if you have well-fitting dentures that are professionally made, are regularly cleaned, and fit well.
Dentures can improve facial sagging to a limited extent because they provide some lift and support for your facial muscles. You will experience additional facial support if you receive implant dentures. You may need grafting to build up the bone to support dental implants if you have experienced jawbone shrinkage.
When you wear complete dentures, and all your natural teeth are missing, bone shrinkage occurs. A lack of bone to support your facial muscles can affect your face shape. Additionally, dentures rest on your jawbone and make the bone shrink faster.
Because dentures rest on that gum ridge and are customized to fit its shape and size, dentures loosen as this happens, and for many patients, end up feeling too big for their mouths. What are your options if this has happened to you?
Tom Cruise: Known for his “megawatt” smile, Tom Cruise is arguably the most famous celebrity to wear dentures. In his early career (remember The Outsiders?), his teeth were very crooked, and there was a pronounced gap between his two front teeth. He began wearing dentures in the early 2000s at the height of his fame.
When getting dentures for the first time, you will likely experience some discomfort. This pain and discomfort can come from the healing process of restorative dentistry before your immediate denture placement and/or from your gums getting used to the new denture.
The bite force that dentures provide is much weaker than natural teeth and dental implants. This is because dentures rest over the gums, rather than teeth and implants whose roots are anchored to the jaw bone. Also, with traditional dentures, chewing capacity is decreased by 50%.
As a general rule of thumb, dental professionals are likely to tell you that adjusting to new dentures takes about 30 days, on average. You might not be keen to wait this long, but you need to be careful how quickly you try to get back to normal.
Use a denture cleanser. (Conventional toothpaste, bleach, vinegar and soap are not designed for denture cleaning and could, in some cases, cause damage. Scratched dentures will harbor unsightly plaque bacteria, causing denture odor. Harsh products like bleach may even turn the pink parts of your dentures white.)
You shouldn't experience any pain throughout the procedure, however it is normal to feel some pressure or movement.
For example, a custom-made denture requires gums to heal for three to six months. During this time, gums will be allowed to heal and patients meet with their dentist for fittings and adjustments.
Why Do I Have a Lisp with Dentures? Lisps can develop with dentures because when we talk through our mouths, we use our lips and tongues. With dentures, however, we lose access to these parts of speech. This leads us to use other areas of our bodies to form certain sounds.