Missing Teeth And Poor Denture Fit Can Adversely Affect Your Diet, Nutritional Status And General Health

Nelson Wood, D.M.D., D.Sc.,M.S.

Missing teeth, dental caries, gum disease, and poorly fitting full or partial dentures can make it difficult to bite and chew. poor oral health or function has been linked to decreased nutritional status, systemic health, self-esteem and a decline in the quality of life. Adults with decayed and/or missing teeth, loose teeth, or poorly-fitting dentures may also avoid certain social activities because they are embarrassed to speak, smile, or eat in front of others. Approximately 60% of U.S. adults are missing at least one tooth, and 10% are completely edentulous. This is strongly associated with aging. The elderly population is increasing in the U.S., and edentulous elders are at greater nutritional risk than those with functioning teeth. Edentulous individuals have approximately 20% of the chewing ability compared to those with teeth. Many edentulous persons consume large amounts of medications (including laxatives and anti-reflux agents) for gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, probably related to their inability to properly chew their food. Edentulous adults have significantly lower intakes of vitamins A and C, protein, and iron, and a lower consumption of fruits and vegetables when compared to adults with teeth. They also consume significantly less dietary fiber, protein, calories, natural milk and milk sugars, calcium, iron, niacin, vitamin C, folate, carotene, vegetables, fresh apples, pears, and carrots, but significantly more saturated fat and cholesterol when compare to people with 25 or more teeth. This is primarily due to dissatisfaction secondary to poor denture fit and stability. Chewing function has been shown to increase following replacement of old complete dentures with implant-borne dentures or functionally corrected new dentures. The health-related consequences of the above nutritional differences in dietary intake because of dentition status suggest that edentulous persons may be at higher risk for cardiovascular or GI diseases and cancer, along with increased poor quality of life and earlier age at death. Reported relationships between missing teeth and poor denture fit and diet are variable for many reasons; the greatest being behavior patterns relative to food choices, which are difficult to change. Individuals with missing teeth and poorly fitting dentures change their eating habits over time, and when new dentures are placed, these individuals rely on previous eating habits, food preferences, and patterns because it has been their usual behavior over time. Some individuals are fearful of attempting to eat a greater assortment of foods that they identify as being difficult to bite and chew. Better biting and chewing efficiency can be achieved with a better fitting denture. Also, the use of miniature denture implants to stabilize lower denture will significantly increase the denture wearers biting and chewing efficiency. The use of upper denture miniature dental implants will also allow for the removal of the denture acrylic from the roof of the mouth. This, in turn, will give the denture wearer a better sense of taste. For more information please contact: Dr. Nelson Wood at nelson_wood@hotmail.com or (413) 754-3212.