The potential for facial retraction is a common concern among those considering dentures. Skin that is too large for their smaller frames sags and folds, emphasising hollows in the cheeks, eyes, and mouth.
Though some degree of bone loss is unavoidable, the following are five solid measures that can help slow the pace of bone loss and prevent the resulting facial shrinkage.
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1: Using Natural Teeth to Anchor Dentures
You won’t lose as much bone mass if you don’t knock out all your teeth at once. The teeth you preserve can help anchor your dentures and keep your jawbone healthy and strong so it can support your skin.
However, this approach has its limitations due to the fact that it isn’t always preferable to have all of your natural teeth. When teeth are broken, infected, at risk of gum disease, or unable to support dentures for any other reason, removal is inevitable.
This tactic is also useless if you’ve already had teeth extracted.
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2: Dentures that are Attached to Implants
Dental implants are second only to natural teeth in their ability to preserve jawbone health and prevent tooth loss.
The ability to start over is a major plus for most people, making fresh starts preferable. Bone grafts can be used to reinforce an area in need of support for implants, and their placement can be tailored to best support your dentures rather than just being where your original teeth were in the best condition.
Dentures connected to implants allow you to eat normally. Thus, it becomes less difficult to consume a diet rich in nutrients essential for strong bones. And now it’s easier than ever with our state-of-the-art digital dental implant technology.
However, implant dentures may not be able to entirely halt bone loss, and if they are poorly placed, you may experience more bone loss than you would like.
3: A Better Denture Fit
Misfit dentures not only contribute to bone loss but also hasten its progression. Biting in a way that irritates your gums is likely to irritate your bone, which might speed up your bone loss.
Your body has two primary ways to decide which bones to keep. First, it acknowledges the beneficial impulses of teeth, which inform the body that bone is required.
Then, it takes cues from unpleasant sensations like pain or discomfort to decide which bones need to be shaved away. In the absence of teeth and in the presence of inflammation, bone may be taken from your body more rapidly than usual.
Because of this, it’s important to have dentures that fit well. What makes The Match of dentures so comfortable is that they are custom-made to fit your bite based on measurements taken using neuromuscular dentistry.
4: Eat Healthy Food
Bone health and maintenance are mutually dependent on a healthy diet, just as they are during the healing process. For optimal health, it’s essential to have a diet rich in a variety of whole, unprocessed foods, such as meats, vegetables, fruits, and nuts.
However, this can be difficult for those without well-fitting dentures or dentures secured by dental implants.
5: Take It Easy on the Dentures!
This is a topic we’d rather not discuss, as it feels like conceding defeat. The quality of life can suffer if you have to remove your dentures at home and only use them when you are out and about.
Dentures and other cheek-Enhancing Devices do not fix sunken cheeks.
The Denture Effect on Facial Volume Loss
Sunken cheeks, as we pointed out, are an inevitable consequence of getting older. That’s why everyone assumes they’re old. However, dentures can sometimes make the problem considerably worse.
To begin, conventional dentures are not a viable option for replacing teeth and jawbone. Since the cheek pad is now lower on the face, it becomes jowls while the cheek itself appears thinner.
Furthermore, conventional dentures are prone to instability. Dentists typically position false teeth further inward than real teeth would be to mimic the position of the jaw bone. When placed in this more internal position, dentures cannot provide the same level of support for the cheeks as natural teeth could.
Also, you can’t use much force to chew with conventional dentures. If you don’t use your jaw muscles often or vigorously, they atrophy and your face takes on a sunken appearance.
The Cheek Enhancement Hypothesis
Denture-related hollow cheeks can be alleviated with the help of a cheek plumper. These “wings” on the dentures’ sides project outward to prop up sagging cheeks.
Several different types of cheek enhancers are available. There are also dentures with some teeth that are cemented in place. Many of the others can be taken out. Why wouldn’t everyone want permanently luscious cheeks? Since there is a common issue with cheek enhancers.
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Issues with Cheek Enhancement Devices
Using a cheek plumper to fix the issue of hollow cheeks is an unnatural fix. Your dentures won’t look or feel any more like real teeth because of this change. Cheek plumpers give false teeth an awkward winglike appearance.
These wings may make it difficult to chew. Cheek plumpers are an annoyance since they force you to adjust how you chew even if you already wear dentures.
Cheek enhancers not only prevent dentures from working properly, but they can also cause discomfort. It’s possible for your gums and cheeks to get irritated as you get used to chewing around the plumpers. Cheek enhancers might aggravate gum tissue because of their added bulk.
Use of a cheek plumper can make it more difficult to properly insert and secure dentures. These dentures can be dislodged by normal chewing motions, and they are also vulnerable to being knocked out by anything that strikes your cheeks.
Options Other Than Cheek Enhancers
However, you can achieve the same results (younger-looking, fuller cheeks) without resorting to artificial means.
Dentures can provide necessary cheek support with the correct care and handling.
