Issue 26.16
As those that wear dentures well know, the lower denture is less secure than the upper—even with the help of lots of denture adhesive.
The problem is that the lower has less surface area and less suction than the upper due to it’s shape. Furthermore, the lower requires more muscle coordination to keep it still because it surrounds the tongue that moves.
The solution is to place the minimum number of dental implants, or anchors, in specific locations in the front of the lower jaw bone to give the lower denture something to snap on to.
This simple snap-on design can make even a very poorly made denture fit much tighter and eliminate the need for denture adhesive, but we usually recommend to remake the dentures eventually after this treatment because of other inadequacies we find in most dentures.
With proper planning, the snap-on approach allows for upgrades to more sophisticated designs if desired with the addition of more dental implants later. This is rarely required because of the high wearer satisfaction, superior cleansability, and low maintenance cost of the simple snap-on design for the troublesome lower denture.
Dr Rodney Andrus is Southern Utah’s only board certified ADA recognized specialist for missing and damaged teeth issues—a prosthodontist. For help with these issues call him at the St George Center for Specialized Dentistry (435) 674-3100.