Hold on to them there teeth!

Ever wonder why dentists work so hard to help patients retain their natural teeth for as long as possible? Would not it just be better, in many patients with poor teeth, to just pull them all and replace with full dentures?

Full dentures have only 10% the chewing power of natural teeth, and it’s difficult to get them to fit satisfactorily, particularly in the lower jaw (mandibular arch). Even if a patient retains one tooth, that will contribute to the denture’s stability. However, retention of just one or two teeth in the upper jaw does not contribute much to the overall stability of the denture, since a full upper denture tends to be very stable, in contrast to a full lower denture. It’s thus advised that patients keep their natural teeth as long as possible, especially their lower teeth.

I sort of find this information interesting, don’t you? I’ll end here to go floss.