Millions of people rely on their traditional dentures to help them eat a wide variety of foods. Certainly, these prosthetics are useful for eating many snacks and meals. However, they may still have a negative impact on your ability to take in adequate nutrition. This blog post explores the connection between dentures and nutrition. It also touches on how dental implants can help.
Nutrition Before and After Dentures
A study from the Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Dentistry examined data from 10,000 patients with the objective of understanding how dentures can affect nutrition. The researchers compared a number of nutritional markers from two years prior to the patients getting dentures to those same markers two years after the patients got their prosthetic teeth.
The comparison revealed a significant decline in nutritional markers after the patients started using dentures. Although many of the data points were still considered to be within normal range, it is reasonable to guess that, with extended denture use, those markers could continually worsen over time.
Why Do Dentures Affect Nutrition?
Here are two major ways in which dentures may impact nutrition:
- Chewing force. Digestion begins in the mouth. The more thoroughly you chew your food, the easier it is for the rest of your digestive system to extract nutrients from what you eat. Unfortunately, denture wearers have much less chewing force than individuals who still have their natural teeth. Therefore, they may swallow larger chunks of food and consequently get reduced benefits from what they eat.
- Dietary changes. Although dentures make it possible to eat many foods, it remains challenging to consume tough and chewy items, such as raw produce and certain types of protein. Some people with dentures stick to eating primarily soft foods. Therefore, they may be limiting their access to certain nutrients.
Is There a Solution?
If you use dentures, you may be able to improve your nutritional intake by adjusting what you eat. For example, you could try incorporating nutrient-rich meal replacement shakes into your diet. You might also invest in some high-quality supplements.
Additionally, you could consider abandoning your traditional denture in favor of a superior form of tooth replacement. Dental implants in Belmont are prosthetic tooth roots that are inserted into the jaw during a minimally invasive surgery. They can hold a denture firmly in place, which can increase your chewing power and enable you to eat virtually any food with ease. (Depending on the type of implant denture you get, you may be able to enjoy a bite strength that is 90% of what you would have with natural teeth.)
Dentures can effectively replace teeth, but they can have a negative effect on your nutrition. Fortunately, there are things you can do to ensure that your body gets the nutrients it needs to function optimally.
Meet the Practice
The team at the Center for Contemporary Dentistry is proud to provide a comprehensive range of treatments, including traditional dentures, implant dentures, and more. To learn more about the various forms of tooth replacement, contact our office at 603-556-7047.