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Dentures Pain
Wearing dentures can be a pain. That uncomfortable feeling you get from having a foreign object
of your mouth is due to a variety of complex factors. The most important thing to realize though is that some soreness
will occur from wearing dentures, while steady pain is an indication that
something is wrong.
Denture pain is something of a mystery to dentists. Some patients exhibit no obvious signs of
tissue damage but experience sharp pain, while other patients have no idea that
their gums have become seriously damaged.
That’s why you should be checked regularly by your dentist at least
twice per year.
There are three main causes of denture pain.
The first cause is due to a bad fit. An improperly fitted denture could be the
result of poor workmanship or the underlying bone anatomy of your jaw. Either way, the problem results from having
soft gum tissue sandwiched by a hard jawbone and the hard denture base. If one portion of your tissue handles more
pressure than the other points of the tissue, it can have a snowball
effect. The tissue gets damaged and
becomes even more sensitive and susceptible to further damage. Common symptoms of a bad fit are soreness,
bleeding, and open wounds in the gums.
The second cause of denture pain is acute pressure. This comes when patients move their mouths
and contact the teeth. Chewing is the
most common cause of acute pressure.
Hard foods are the worst for this.
Patients can still experience abnormal forces on the gums under normal
talking conditions or any other activity requiring jaw movement.
A third cause can simply be attributed to changing tissue
conditions with age and disease. Your
gums naturally lose their resilience with age and shrink. This is a common cause for denture misfit
that can be fixed with a new set of dentures.
The process never really stops though, so a regular schedule of checkups
is the only way to avoid this.
There are a variety of topical anesthetics available to help
alleviate sharp pains in the mouth from wearing dentures. They typically work for hours and can be
reapplied if necessary. However, recurring
pain is an indication that something is wrong.
Most soreness should only be present the first few weeks after receiving
a new set of dentures.
If you have constant oral pain from wearing dentures,
consult your dentist immediately for a diagnosis.
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