When you first get them, you can often trust dentures to fit snugly and securely. Dental labs customize them to fit your mouth well without slipping or moving around. Still, it’s always possible to develop a loose lower denture that struggles to stay in place. Knowing that fact, your Jonesboro dentist is here to help you fix such faulty prosthetics. Just keep reading to learn the potential causes and solutions for a loose lower denture.
What Makes a Lower Denture Loose?
While various factors can make a lower denture feel loose, the most common ones are the following:
Your Denture is Ill-Fitting
Most lower dentures are quite well-made, but there are always exceptions. Some of these restorations can have borders that are too long or short for your mouth. As a result, they can fail to form a solid seal when placed and easily start to slip or feel loose.
Your Ridge is Flat or Negative
To stay in place, a lower denture needs (among other things) a jaw with proper bone height and width. The prosthetic won’t remain stable if your jawbone lacks the right dimensions, as it’ll become loose instead. This outcome is especially likely if you’ve suffered tooth loss for an extended period.
You Have Poor Muscle Control
While they may sound “low-effort,” lower dentures require the use of specific muscles. They’ll often feel loose or insecure if you can’t exert the necessary control. That said, wearing a lower denture can require you to rely on muscles you’ve never considered before.
How Do You Fix It?
Often enough, patients can fix a loose lower denture by doing one (or more) of the following:
- Use Adhesives – When your denture feels insecure, try applying three small dots’ worth of adhesive. That should be enough to make your restoration stable.
- Remember to Practice – You can steady your lower dentures by training your face and tongue with practice. Just note that you’d likely need to change your eating and speaking habits.
- Reline the Denture – When its looseness stems from a poor fit, have your dentist reline your denture. This step would adapt your prosthetic to your ridge anatomy.
- Try Implant Dentures – If all else fails, consider securing your lower denture with dental implants. These posts fuse with your jaw to ensure the connected teeth are stable.
Talk to your dental provider if you’d like more help with a loose lower denture. They’ll gladly work with you to make your restored smile stable!
About the Author
Dr. Shane Smith is a dentist based in Jonesboro, AR, having earned his DDS from the University of Tennessee’s Health Science Center. He takes great pride in helping patients achieve great smiles and always goes the extra mile. Given that fact, you can trust him and his preventive, cosmetic, and restorative treatments to make your grin thrive! Today, Dr. Smith practices at his self-titled clinic and is reachable on his website and by phone at (870)-932-2644.