Sjögren’s syndrome poses many oral health challenges. In this autoimmune disorder, the body attacks the body’s exocrine glands, including the glands that produce saliva.

Saliva is important for oral health. It not only helps chew and digest food, it protects teeth and gums  against oral bacteria. So when people have Sjögren’s syndrome, they likely develop oral health problems, including decayed and infected teeth as well as gum disease. This increases the risk of tooth loss, so these people are more likely to need dentures.

But there’s a problem: saliva also helps protect the gums from the pressure of dentures. Without saliva, people are more likely to experience denture pain. Not only that, the lack of saliva makes it hard for dentures to create a good seal so that suction can hold them in place.

So the natural solution is implant dentures, which can reduce denture. But there’s a problem: dental implants are vulnerable to many of the same oral health problems as natural teeth. Would the lack of saliva lead to implant problems as it had tooth problems?

A new case study suggests not, showing that implant dentures can be a good solution for people with Sjögren’s syndrome.

Implants Relieve Denture Pain

Three Years of Testing

For this study, researchers looked at the case of a 50-year-old woman with Sjögren’s syndrome. She had lost several of her teeth and was given removable partial dentures.

However, she was unhappy with the results of the denture. She wasn’t able to chew properly and experienced significant mouth pain related to the dentures.

To help her overcome the problem, researchers placed 8 dental implants, some in the lower arch and some in the upper. She received custom abutments that supported screw-retained zirconia bridges (fixed partial dentures).

She was followed for three years after receiving the dentures. Over this period, researchers noted no complications related to the dental implants. She didn’t even have minor peri-implantitis–there was no inflammation and no bone loss around the dental implants.

Solutions to Sjögren’s Syndrome Denture Pain

If you have lost your teeth due to Sjögren’s syndrome and are unhappy with dentures you received as a result, a FOY ® Dentures dentist has several options to help.

First, we can try FOY ® Dentures to replace your traditional dentures. Although this case study mentions several attempts to refit the patient’s dentures, it is likely that all these refits were done according to traditional denture methods. Even skilled dentists can have trouble avoiding pressure spots and pinch points when fitting partial dentures. But the scientific approach to fitting FOY ® Dentures can result in very balanced dentures that distribute the force of biting and chewing evenly on the gums. It can also help improve the fit of dentures to that the dentures can create a bond with little saliva.

However, if FOY ® Dentures don’t provide relief, we can convert them to implant dentures to take pressure completely off the gums, so you can not only avoid discomfort, you can have improved bite force.

If you are looking for alternatives to traditional dentures for Sjögren’s syndrome or other denture pain, please contact a local FOY ® Dentures dentist today for an appointment.