Struggling To Chew Your Food With Your Partial Denture? See A Dentist About Dental Implants
If you struggle to chew your food into easily swallowable and digestible pieces because of an ill-fitting or painful partial upper or lower denture, speak to a dentist about dental implants. Dental implants are permanent alternatives to dentures, which may cause some problems overtime, including falling out when you eat and not fitting properly over time. If you can't chew food properly, you may develop health problems that affect your overall health and nutrition. In addition, dental implants strengthen your jawbones so that you don't lose strength in your cheekbones and other areas of the face. Here are the consequences of not chewing and digesting food properly and how dental implants help you overcome them.
How Can Your Inability to Chew Harm Your Health?
Although a partial denture replaces your missing teeth, the appliance may not be the best option for you if it prevents you from getting the nutrition you need each day. Your teeth and denture should break food down into tiny particles before you swallow it, which makes it easier for your digestive system to absorb and utilize. But if you swallow large chunks of food without chewing it properly because your denture isn't strong or sturdy enough to do so, your digestive system can't absorb the nutrients it needs for your health.
Additionally, swallowing improperly chewed food may harm the soft tissues of your esophagus as it travels down it, which may lead to other issues, such as acid reflux and heartburn. The stomach acids created by acid reflux or heartburn can decay the rest of your teeth if the acids back flow up your esophagus and into your mouth.
The saliva inside your mouth may dry out from the lack of chewing stimulation. Your mouth creates saliva in order to moisten and break down food when you chew. If you develop low saliva because of your inability to chew food into small pieces or at all, you can experience indigestion, dry mouth and other ailments.
Dental implants may prevent the issues above, as well as many others you might face in the future.
What's the Most Common Type of Dental Implant Treatment?
A dentist may offer several types of dental implants, including the traditional titanium dental implant. Titanium dental implants are designed to replace single or multiple missing teeth in the front, back, upper, and lower regions of the mouth. The posts typically resemble natural teeth roots and fit directly inside the jawbones, which keeps the appliance from moving around in your mouth or falling out.
Titanium implant posts also feature special attachments called abutments. Abutments are used to connect porcelain or composite dental crowns to the implants after placement. The crowns make it possible for you to chew food thoroughly for the proper digestion.
It may take anywhere from two to four months or longer for your jawbones to heal after a dentist inserts the implant posts. During this healing time, the bones of your jaws undergo a process called osseointegration. Osseointegration occurs when the bone tissues of the jaws accept and bond with the implant posts. A dentist may examine your implant sites regularly to ensure that the osseointegration process is going well.
After you complete the healing time, a dentist will generally custom-fit your crowns to ensure that they fit the abutments correctly after placement. In order for the crowns to allow you to chew food properly, they must be cemented and secured in place. A dentist will discuss the crown placement stage in greater detail during your consultation.
For more details about dental implants or correcting your inability to chew, contact a dentist today, such as Davis R Troup DDS PA.