The Truth About Dentures

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4330 Barranca Parkway, Suite 140
Irvine, CA 92604

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“The first day the denture goes in is the last day of health for the jaw bone. It only gets worse from there—guaranteed.” –Dr. Scott Rice

A word of warning if you wear dentures: One of the things that is seldom shared with the denture patient is that there will always come a day when no denture can be satisfactorily made or worn due to the deteriorated condition of the jaw.

When that day comes, the only way to get teeth again is with major bone grafting taken from the top of your hip in the hospital. There are roughly a half a dozen surgeons in the U.S. that have a very high success rate with hip grafts to the jaw bone. We can recommend some of these specialists to you if necessary.

It is best to avoid reaching this sad situation by instead having implants placed well before the day when you need a hip graft.

If you are under the age of 65 and wear a denture, we should perform an immediate implant evaluation. That’s because after the age of 65, no insurer will cover this medically necessary surgery, and neither will Medicare. It will then become an out-of-pocket expense for you.

This alone can cause a doubling in the cost to get your teeth back!

Effects on the Jaw Bone by Wearing a Full Denture

Natural Teeth

Loss of Teeth

In goes the Denture

Up to 40% of the jaw bone is usually lost in the first 6 months

Continual pounding of the jaw bone causes more jaw bone to be lost. The “oral wig” is made bigger with either a reline or a new denture as the bone disappears.

The “oral wig” is again too loose, now that more bone has dissolved.

Once gain, the denture is made bigger to compensate for the missing bone.

The bone continues to wither away. Notice the small circle: That is where the nerve that normally runs deep inside the jaw becomes exposed and lies just beneath the gum tissue.

After the nerve is exposed and the denture is relined again, the denture puts pressure on the exposed nerve, causing pain or numbness—ouch! The only way to replace this bone is to remove it from the top of the hip and graft it to the jaw.

Effects of Wearing a Partial Denture: “The Roller-Coaster” Effect

Normal

3 Back Teeth Extracted

Bone Loss Under the Partial: "The Bone Roller Coaster"

The three pictures above show a side view of a human jaw. The first picture shows a normal jaw with teeth. The second picture shows what happens to the jaw bone shortly after three extractions—the bone is melting away.

With time the bone loss becomes more extensive from not having teeth and from the partial denture resting on the bone.

The final picture shows this eventual bone loss. In addition, the clasps on the partial denture eventually cause the front teeth holding the denture to get loose and to be lost.

In minor cases, bone grafts are taken from another spot in the jaw to move to the damaged area. In severe cases, the doctor must go to the hip to get enough bone to replace what is missing.