Archives for December 2024

I have removable dentures and the upper dentures have been making me gag. It has been almost impossible to use them. My dentist’s attitude has basically been, “Well, you didn’t take care of your teeth so this is what you’re stuck with.” Is there any solution for this?

Brent

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Dear Brent,

I’m sorry about the attitude of your dentist. Let’s say for argument’s sake that you didn’t take care of your teeth. That does not mean you don’t deserve compassion and the best treatment possible with your options. I see two options for your situation.

A lot of patients have issues with dentures, so don’t feel alone on this. First, the absolute best thing you could do for both the situation with the gagging and the long term health of your body is to get implant supported dentures.

These place four to six dental implants in your jaw and then anchor your dentures to them. Because of that, there will be no need for the upper denture plate that is messing with you now and causing you to gag.

Another important function dental implants serve in is preserving your jawbone. When your teeth were removed, your body immediately began to resorb the minerals in your jawbone in order to use them elsewhere in your body. It does this in an effort to be as efficient with your body’s resources as possible. Because you no longer have teeth roots to support it figures that those resources would be better used elsewhere.

The downside to this is that your jawbone slowly shrinks. While your upper denture is held in by suction, from that denture plate you hate, the lower dentures rests on the ridge of that jawbone to stay in place. Eventually, in about ten years or so, you would no longer have enough of your jawbone to keep in your lower dentures. This is known in dental circles as facial collapse. That would limit you to a soft diet only and severely impact your nutrition.

By placing the dental implants there, it signals to your body that you still have teeth, which means your jawbone is necessary to keep those teeth roots in place. This prevents facial collapse.

The only real downside to this is the cost. It is more expensive than just getting dentures. If you can only afford it for one arch, get it on your lower arch to protect your jawbone. Implants are not as necessary on the upper arch because those those are held in by suction.

However, it is obviously the suction that is giving you the gagging problem. Here is where the second option could help you with the upper dentures without implants.

There is a new procedure that has been helpful for some people developed by a prosthodontist in Lancashire, England, Dr. Finlay Sutton. If you look at the two denture images above, the top one shows the denture extending all the way to the vibrating line. There is a way to cut this back a bit that has prevented some patients with a strong gag reflex from struggling, such as in the lower image. It cannot be cut too far or the denture will lose its suction.

This blog is brought to you by Duluth, GA Dentist Dr. David Marion.