Teething clenching, commonly referred to as bruxism, can affect your oral health significantly. People living with bruxism have damaged teeth that wear down every night. Even with dentures, bruxism continues and can affect them significantly. Dentures exposed to bruxism tend to be in bad shape and cannot function properly. Therefore, as a denture wearer, it is important to know the effects of bruxism on dentures.
Causes Damage
Grinding dentures due to bruxism can cause severe damage to them. Bruxism often forces down the jaw onto your dentures with immense force. This results in excessive pressure on your dentures, damaging them. Dentures are designed to handle the natural pressure of a normal bite but not the level of pressure caused by bruxism. Denture wearers with teeth grinding problems are likely to need replacements and repairs on a more regular basis than those without bruxism.
Causes Injury
This point underlines the importance of not sleeping with your dentures. This is because they can cause injuries, especially if you have bruxism. Even when you remove dentures before going to bed, bruxism can result in mouth injuries (bone and gums). Furthermore, your gums can be pressed together with excessive pressure to the extent that they accelerate bone loss. Bruxism can also result in jaw imbalance, causing your dentures to not fit properly. This can significantly affect your bite and speech.
Wears Them Down Quickly
Bruxism will wear down your dentures more quickly than usual. While you might remove your dentures when sleeping, your lower and upper jaws can still be forced together. As a result, there will be excessive pressure on your gums and the ridges below them. This will lead to faster bone resorption. When the jaw bone is damaged, dentures might not fit properly. Therefore, poor-fitting dentures tend to wear down faster. Visit our offices for more information on the effects of bruxism on dentures.
Dental Blog | Wausau, WI | Wanserski Dental Center for Complex Dentistry Dr. David Wanserski, DDS, from Wanserski Dental Center for Complex Dentistry, has created this informative blog to help educate the community. Learn more. Wanserski Dental Center for Complex Dentistry, 550 N. 17th Ave. Wausau, WI 54401 | (715) 848-2435 | wanserskidental.com | 1/17/2025 | Key Phrases: dental implants Wausau WI |
Teething clenching, commonly referred to as bruxism, can affect your oral health significantly. People living with bruxism have damaged teeth that wear down every night. Even with dentures, bruxism continues and can affect them significantly. Dentures exposed to bruxism tend to be in bad shape and cannot function properly. Therefore, as a denture wearer, it is important to know the effects of bruxism on dentures.