1 – “Removable dental prostheses are for the elderly.”
FALSE. If 55% of French people over the age of 65 have a removable dental prosthesis (whether partial or total: the famous dentures), dental surgeons can recommend the installation of an appliance from age 18 years old.
The n ° 1 role of a removable dental prosthesis is to replace one or more missing teeth: however, if age can of course lead to the loss of certain teeth, a road accident, a violent blow. to the jaw or even a disease (one thinks in particular of periodontitis) can cause the same effects. And there, the removable dental prosthesis becomes essential, regardless of age …
2 – “A removable dental prosthesis is embarrassing daily. “
FALSE. “Of course, there is an adjustment period which varies from one person to another,” specifies Dr. Lequart, dental surgeon. On average, it is estimated that it takes between 1 and 3 months to get used to your dentures. “But once this transitional period has passed, the dental prosthesis – which is perfectly adapted to the shape of the jaw and which does not move a hair thanks to the adhesive cream – is forgotten …
Better: the comfort of the person is even improved. “When you are missing one or more teeth and you are not wearing a dental prosthesis, it has an aesthetic impact (it is not pretty), relational (you have difficulty speaking correctly) and you have difficulty eat, adds the specialist. The removable dental prosthesis will correct all of this and you won’t even feel it every day. “
3 – “A removable dental prosthesis is ugly.”
FALSE. Forget the old Epinal image of granny’s dentures, as unsightly as possible. “Today, prosthetic teeth look exactly like natural teeth, especially in terms of color,” says Dr. Lequart. The difference is impossible to detect! ”
“Dentists are continually battling patients who want hyper-white teeth – I call it the ‘sink shade.’ Indeed, with age, the enamel decreases and we see better the dentin, a mineralized tissue whose color is more yellow. This is the reason why we refer our patients to removable dentures with more natural shades. In addition, the dentist sometimes manages to integrate small defects in the prosthesis so that it looks like a real dentition. In short, if you are well advised, your prosthesis will go completely unnoticed …
4 – “A removable dental prosthesis makes you drool.”
FALSE … AND TRUE. It is a stubborn prejudice … but it is not without foundation. “Indeed, for 1 to 3 weeks, we will notice a phenomenon of hyper-salivation, recognizes Dr. Lequart. Because, for the brain, the removable dental prosthesis constitutes first of all a food of which it is necessary to begin the process of digestion. Hence excessive salivation. Fortunately, this phenomenon disappears quite quickly. If it persists beyond the first few weeks, an appointment with the dentist is necessary …
5 – “Removable dental prostheses give bad breath.”
FALSE. At the origin of bad breath, there is a maceration of food particles stuck between the teeth and / or between the removable dental prosthesis and the gum. “It is above all a question of hygiene,” notes Dr. Lequart. If you clean your removable dental prosthesis twice a day (in the morning and in the evening) with soap or by using cleaning tablets for dental prostheses (by discovering Fixodent products, for example) bad breath has no reason to exist. “
Second good reflex to avoid bad breath: use an adhesive cream which, by being distributed all along the appliance, will behave like a “seal” between the removable dental prosthesis and the gum in order to avoid food infiltration. Better: some adhesives have an antibacterial action that helps keep breath fresh.
Thanks to Dr. Lequart, dental surgeon and spokesperson for the French Union for Oral Health (UFSBD).
