Tooth Loss - What You Need to Know

 

 

 

Tooth Loss - What You Need to Know

 

 

 

 

If you’ve lost teeth and have not replaced

them with dental implants,

or having difficulty applying dentures,

it can be tempting to try and eat without

them. Over time, you might even become

good at it. While this approach may seem

convenient, eating without teeth can be

dangerous to the mouth and the rest of

your body.

 

 

 

 

1)    Gum and Jaw Issues

When you try to chew without teeth,

your gums and jaws have to work even

harder to ensure that food is chewed

enough to swallow.

 

The bite force of natural teeth is around

200-250 pounds of force,

while the force of dentures is about 50

pounds. This means dentures are much less

powerful than original teeth,

but this is definitely a case

where something is better than nothing.

 

 

 

 

Over time, your teeth and gums will

become sore and irritated from having

to work extra hard to properly process food,

even softer foods that do not appear to

require a lot of chewing.

This can lead to more serious problems

like TMJ and infected gums.

 

The jawbone is also in a constant state

of flux and changes in response to

pressure placed on it from teeth or

dentures. Without this pressure,

the bone becomes weakened over time

and is more prone to fractures.

 

 

 

 

Sure, there are a lot of recipes out

there for smoothies, purees,

and other foods that claim to be safe to eat

without teeth. This is technically true,

but this diet is only intended to be followed

for short periods of time such as the period

between when natural teeth are extracted

and when dentures are ready.

 

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2)    Gastrointestinal Problems

Digestion is a complex, multi-organ

process where all of the pieces must fall

into place for it to work as planned.

The entire process begins in the mouth,

and throwing a wrench into the system

by not properly chewing food can lead

to problems later on down the line

in the digestive tract.

When food is not well chewed and

the food fragments are too big to be

properly broken down, incomplete

digestion occurs. Not only do nutrients

not get extracted from the food but

undigested food also becomes fodder

for bacteria in the colon.

This can lead to bacterial growth,

flatulence, and other symptoms of

indigestion.

Eating a diet composed of foods

that have already been processed enough

to not require chewing is not much better

as your body does not have the opportunity

to absorb nutrients through

the chewing process.

 

 

 

 

Chewing is also directly connected

with the movement of food through

your digestive tract, and, in particular,

with the movement of food from

your stomach to your small intestine.

Saliva from the chewing process help

relax the pylorus, a small muscle at the lower

end of the stomach, enough to allow food

to pass into the small intestine and

through your digestive tract.

 

The process of chewing also signals

the rest of the gastrointestinal system

that the digestive process can begin.

It stimulates the taste receptors in the mouth,

which relay messages to the stomach to

start producing acid to aid with digestion

once food reaches it. It also signals

the pancreas to begin producing enzymes

that are passed into the small intestine to

aid with digestion there.

 

 

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