Today, total prostheses used by many of our elderly people perform functions such as chewing and speaking.
However; The use of lower full dentures creates great difficulties for many people. It is a fact that since there is no anatomical structure to hold the lower prosthesis in place (unlike the upper jaw), it moves a lot and causes great problems for the user.
The problem is even greater in patients who have been using prostheses for many years because; Since the jaw surfaces on which the prosthesis sits are very flattened, it becomes difficult to hold the prosthesis in the mouth and eat it. Today, patients with such excessively resorbed (eroded) ridges (palates) usually use denture adhesive creams.
However, the number of patients who can be happy with this is also low, because in addition to the difficulty of sticking the prosthesis before the meal and cleaning it afterward, the taste of the glue in the mouth is another problem. There are those who find the adhesive bad in taste and even say that they use it with disgust, and there are also those who say that they are very pleased. Despite everything, the number of patients who say that they use glue for the pleasure of being able to fill their stomach with non-moving prostheses is also quite high. So what to do?
At this point, we can say the following.
1. Not losing our teeth should be our primary consideration,
2. If we have somehow lost our teeth, we must renew the prostheses we have made within the prescribed period, which is 5 years. As the prosthesis ages, its mobility will increase, as it increases, the damage will increase, and use will become more difficult as there will not be enough mechanical surface to hold the prosthesis at the end.
3. We should not avoid using adhesives, which will minimize the damage caused by the movement of the prosthesis,
4. For patients who do not want to use adhesives, fast, cheap, convenient and non-moving prostheses can be made by placing holders that will keep the prosthesis in place on mini-implants that can be placed in the mouth with a very simple operation, thus providing comfort for eating and speaking. With such fixed full dentures, it is possible to enjoy eating an apple and a sandwich by biting.
Although cylindrical implants, which require longer and slightly larger surgery, are the main solution, they are difficult to choose due to surgical procedures that may be a bit expensive and somewhat difficult for elderly patients.
