Beware of Dentures

It may surprise you, but I would not wish a denture on my worst enemy. This may seem hyperbolic, but it is accurate-I wish good health over less-than-perfect treatment for everyone. I make them, but I warn patients that as much as they can replace teeth and improve appearances and chewing, they have many pitfalls. I warn patients that they may appreciate appearing as if they have all of their teeth, but there will be a host of problems with them. In short, the best dentures in the world will still have numerous problems; they may marginally function as natural teeth. This post covers the good, bad, and ugly of dentures.

Before the advent of farming, our jaws were larger; our faces were broader, our teeth were straight, we had adequate room for our wisdom teeth, larger brains, and more space in our throats to breathe. It is a virtual certainty that our changing diets contributed to crooked teeth and a lack of adequate space for wisdom teeth and constricted airways. SMALL JAWS CAUSE BIG PROBLEMS. Heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, ADHD, depression, and anxiety are a few. In this post, I am going to cover how our lifestyles have changed leading to our current problems, and what we can do about it.

Are there people who just don’t chew enough to absorb enough nutrients to be healthy, even though they could if they wanted to? How do we know when we have safely masticated food enough to safely swallow? Are all of the recommendations to chew more based on legitimate science? Let’s find out…