If you have lost your teeth, dentures can be a valuable substitute. They can restore the function and appearance of your teeth, letting you live a fuller, happier life. And, as we’ve seen, they can even help you live longer.
Unfortunately, there are also health risks associated with dentures. If not utilized properly, dentures can be a source of poor health, leading to serious, even fatal, complications.
Here are some of the big mistakes people make with their dentures that can lead to problems.
Wearing Dentures at Night
One of the most important aspects of denture care to keep in mind is that you should take your dentures out at night to soak. Not only does this help clean your dentures, but it also helps you avoid some serious health problems.
The most dangerous complication of wearing dentures at night is an increased risk of pneumonia. In fact, wearing dentures at night more than doubles your pneumonia risk. Given the potentially deadly nature of pneumonia, especially among patients over age 85, this is a mistake that you want to avoid.
Not Cleaning Dentures Well Enough
Another issue with dentures is that people may find it difficult to clean them. Dentures are usually made wholly or in part of plastic (PMMA), which can provide a good surface for oral bacteria and other microorganisms to grow on. These microorganisms not only get inhaled, leading to the increased pneumonia risk, they can also cause health problems in the mouth.
Most common is stomatitis, an infection of the mouth by either fungus that makes your mouth red, inflamed, and painful. When you develop stomatitis, it can be very hard to wear your dentures–it’s just too painful. To avoid stomatitis, you have to carefully clean your dentures according to guidelines.
Giving Up on Hard-to-Eat Foods
While dentures are supposed to replace the function of your teeth, they don’t always. In particular, dentures may not be as efficient at chewing. They don’t always let people eat a full range of healthy foods. In response to this, people either stop eating as much or they focus on eating just the foods that are easiest for them.
The problem is that many of these easy-to-eat foods are highly processed and unhealthy. They are high in salt, sugar, and fat, but low in nutrients. The result is that people can sometimes lose weight when they get dentures. Sometimes, though, they actually gain weight. In either case, they can experience significant malnutrition because their body isn’t getting what it needs.
Dentures That Can Help Your Health
Most of the health problems related to dentures are simple failures to properly care for dentures. In many ways, if you take care of your dentures, they will take care of you.
However, there is a real problem when it comes to getting dentures that let you eat a range of highly nutritious foods. Many dentures just aren’t up to the task.
High-quality FOY® Dentures are designed to function as much like natural teeth as possible for dentures. This can help you expand your diet to include more healthy foods.
To learn more about the benefits of FOY® Dentures, please contact a local FOY® Dentures dentist today.
