Dentures are a removable tooth replacement. This leads people to wonder, how long can they wear their dentures, and how long should they take them out each day.
You should be able to wear your dentures for most of the day. If you have quality dentures, you shouldn’t have trouble keeping them in for 16 to 18 hours a day. Unfortunately, many people have uncomfortable dentures that they can’t wear for very long. If your dentures are too uncomfortable to wear for long, a Denture Fountain of Youth® dentist can help. They will utilize advanced fitting techniques to help you achieve a great fit with your dentures.
Dentures Should Be Wearable All Day
Many people find their dentures very uncomfortable at first. This is normal. At first, you put dentures over your gums where your denture dentist extracted your natural teeth. The site needs time to heal, which can take months. In addition, your gums will need to toughen up. Your gums are not accustomed to supporting any weight or pressure. The force from biting, chewing, swallowing, or just providing stability to your head all get transferred by natural teeth into your bones. Putting this force on your gums instead can lead to discomfort.
However, after your bones heal and your gums grow accustomed to supporting pressure, your dentures should be comfortable for wearing all day. At a minimum, this means 10-12 hours of comfortable wear daily, enough to get you through your full day’s activities, including work and/or play.
Why Aren’t Your Dentures Comfortable for All-Day Wear?
If you find yourself unable to wear your dentures all day, there are several possible explanations. Common reasons you can’t wear your dentures as long as you want include:
- Poor denture fit
- Bone spurs or fragments
- Broken or worn dentures
- Bone changes
Often, the problem is simply denture fit. The traditional system for fitting dentures is not especially scientific, and the trial-and-error process doesn’t always yield the best results. In addition, cheap dentures may come in only a small number of premade sizes, so they might not fit you. Although traditional dentures and cheap dentures often have a poor fit, the scientific fitting system for the Denture Fountain of Youth® can improve the fit and comfort of your dentures.
Sometimes during tooth extraction, small pieces of bone might break off the jaw, and either the fragments or the sharp bone they leave behind might cause pain when you put the pressure of a denture on top of them.
In addition, broken or worn dentures can be uncomfortable to wear. They might not fit the way they used to. On the other hand, the problem might not be the denture but your jawbone. Once your teeth are gone, your body will remove the bone that is used to support them. This can change the way your dentures fit.
If your dentures used to feel comfortable, but they don’t anymore, it’s time to talk to your denture dentist. They can evaluate your denture fit. If the dentures are broken, they will recommend a repair or replacement. If your bones have changed, your dentist will likely recommend a reline.
For further help, check out our tips for getting all-day comfort from your dentures.
Why You Shouldn’t Wear Dentures Overnight
If good, comfortable dentures can be worn for most of the day, shouldn’t you be able to wear dentures overnight? Not necessarily.
You want to take your dentures out sometimes to give your gums time to rest. Gums are soft tissues not suited to being caught between the hard surfaces of your bone and dentures. Giving them at least a few hours to rest is recommended to avoid developing chronic discomfort.
It’s also important to make sure you clean your dentures properly each day, including a long soak in a denture cleaner. This will help you avoid bacterial infections like gum disease and fungal infections like thrush.
If you have reasons why you want to wear dentures at night, you can take your dentures out for cleaning during the day. However, it’s better to have your dentures out at night because your body’s saliva production reduces at night, which means your body isn’t fighting off infection and lubricating dentures as well at night.
Despite this, some people want to wear dentures overnight because otherwise, they experience:
- Jaw pain and headaches
- Difficulty breathing
- Social discomfort from not having teeth at night
If you don’t have teeth, your jaw might move into an uncomfortable position overnight, leading to jaw pain and headaches. (Poorly fitting dentures can cause this, too.) Your teeth also help hold your jaw in a good position for breathing, so you might find it hard to breathe without teeth or dentures. Finally, some people don’t like the idea of not having teeth during the night. It makes them feel uncomfortable with themselves and in their relationships.
In some cases, you can get an oral appliance that you can wear at night instead of your dentures. You can also consider getting implant dentures that you may be able to wear overnight because they don’t rest on your gums.
Get Comfortable Dentures
If you are looking for well-fitted dentures that will be comfortable for wearing all day or implant dentures you can wear at night, let a Denture Fountain of Youth® dentist help.
Please contact a local Denture Fountain of Youth® dentist today for an appointment.
