Husband Refuses to Wear Dentures

My husband lost his teeth about six months ago. We decided for him to get dentures. He absolutely hates them and refuses to wear them. He says they hurt and food gets under them. Our dentist said he’d get used to them, but he can’t if he doesn’t put them in ever. What do I do?

Avery

Dear Avery,

a set of dentures

It’s a shame your dentist isn’t being more helpful. It doesn’t sound like they even double checked the fit or tried to make any adjustments to your husband’s dentures. And, while some patients adjust to the feel of dentures, others never do. With even the best fitting dentures, your husband will lose 50% of his chewing capacity.

If he hates his dentures, you basically have three choices:

First, he can go without teeth. No one wants that option for him because it will take a toll on his health nutritionally.

A second option is to get a second opinion on the fit of his dentures. Often, some simple adjustments by a better dentist will be all it takes to get things working for him.

Your third option is to try a different tooth replacement. You didn’t mention your husband age, but even ten years with dentures will have a devastating effect on the bone density of his jaw. Dentures lead to a condition known as facial collapse— a shrinking of the jawbone. Eventually, he won’t be able to keep his dentures in at all because there won’t be enough bone density to support them.

Alternatives to Removable Dentures

The best option to removable dentures is dental implants. This uses a prosthetic to function as your tooth root, helping your brain to realize you still need your jawbone to support teeth.

Most people can’t afford a dental implant on each tooth, so a viable alternative is to get implant overdentures. These can be anchored with a minimum of four implants, though obviously the more implants the more stable everything will be.

Another option in affordable dental implants is to get snap-on dentures. These can use as few as two implants and are a good starting place for those on a tough budget.

This blog is brought to you by Dr. Steven Collins.