A good amount of saliva is essential to denture wearers. It helps create the suction that’s necessary to hold the denture plates in place. The saliva also serves as lubricant that prevents abrasion and irritation to the gums where they come in direct contact with the dentures.
When you have dry mouth and attempt to wear dentures, you can have loose dentures that rock or won’t stay in your mouth without denture adhesive as well as irritation, sores and even infection. If you have dry mouth, you need to determine the cause and do what you can to manage the condition.
If it’s a medication that’s causing your dry mouth condition, contact your physician to see if another drug can provide you the same benefit without causing this side effect. Of course, don’t just stop taking a drug that has been prescribed to you unless instructed to do so by you doctor.
There are substances that can stimulate saliva production, including sugar-free hard candies and drugs that may be prescribed by a physician or dentist. There are also commercially available saliva substitutes that can lubricate and moisten the mouth.
In many cases, however, simply rinsing the mouth and drinking more water can help lubricate a dry mouth enough to alleviate denture symptoms and increase the production of the body’s own saliva. Just keep in mind that if you have congestive heart failure or some other medical conditions, increasing your consumption of fluids may not be advised.
If you have a severe dry mouth condition and still need to wear dentures, very small dental implants are available upon which your dentures can be mounted for the best possible fit and comfort without needing to solve the dry mouth issue. Simply ask your dentists if this solution could be right for you. It’s working well for thousands of people and could be right in your case.