12 IMPORTANCE OF ARTIFICIAL TEETH THAT MOST DOCTORS AND NURSES DON'T KNOW ABOUT.

 

When artificial teeth ( dentures ) come to the mind of most doctors and nurses, the three primary functions that many easily associate with dentures are the ability to improve looks/esthetics , the ability to  aid clear speech production, and the ability to aid proper grinding of food for easy digestion respectively.

Though not too poor, there are other functions of dentures which are very important. 

Doctors (medical/none dental) and Nurses (none Dental ), especially those in Public hospitals, have  regular contact with patients (both dental and none dental) and as such are In a position to advice them accordingly on the relationship between dentures and their health.

A study carried out by Ebenezer C. Eze (a restorative dentist )on the level of  awareness of the importance of Dentures among Doctors and Nurses of some public hospitals (names withheld)  revealed the findings above.

Based on the data analysis, Almost all were ignorant of other functions of dentures. Below are the major functions of dentures including the ones above.

Dentures do the following:

π Prevent the overgrowth of opposing (either jaw) tooth  into the space created by the lost one on the opposing jaw (either jaw) :  Over growth occurs because the contact between the incisal and occlusal surfaces of the upper and lower teeth limit their growth. Overgrowth often leads to extraction when the overgrown tooth/teeth starts hitting the opposing jaw usually on the alveolar bone. If extraction is not done immediately, pain is bound to occur. 

π Restoration of the facial profile (details) of the wearer : By preventing the collapse of facial muscles, dentures make the face of the wearer to look as always. That is, it prevents alteration in the looks of the wearer who remains easily recognizable as always.

π Speech improvement : Where the malpositioning of the extracted/lost tooth/ led to poor speech  production, dentures help to improve the wearer's speech. 

π Speech restoration : In a situation where the extracted/lost tooth aided clear speech production/pronunciation of words, dentures can restore the same ability.

π Prevent the collapse of the cheek into the space created by the absent tooth or teeth :This prevents cheek bite.

π Prevent the collapse of the lips into the space created by the absent tooth or teeth : This prevents speech alteration.

π Improves aesthetics/beauty : In a situation where the absent natural tooth/teeth were aesthetically bad, dentures can improve their wearer's looks, thereby boosting their self esteem and  confidence consequently.

π Restoration of Esthetics/Beauty : In a situation where the lost natural tooth/teeth were esthetically good. Dentures can restore the same looks.

π Improves masticatory efficiency : Digestion which starts from the mouth can't be easy without grinding by the teeth. Dentures restore and improve the ability to masticate food for easy digestion, where the natural ones are not efficient by virtue of fewness in number or lack of vitality.

π Reduce tooth mobility and loss consequently   by aiding in load distribution  : When fewer teeth handle the masticatory task naturally designed for more teeth, it weakens the anchorage of the remaining standing teeth in the alveolar bone. This overtime leads to tooth mobility and loss, if not arrested.

π Prevent the drifting of adjacent tooth/teeth to saddle area : When a space is created by a lost tooth or teeth, the standing ones close to the created space usually drift into the space. Overtime it would lead to several diastema (gaps) in between teeth. This often results in malocclusion, poor aesthetics and speech alteration.

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π Maintenance of the vertical relationship (dimension) of the jaw : This is usually achieved by the posterior artificial teeth. The loss of natural teeth ,especially the posterior ones lead to an alteration in the TMJ relationship of the Upper and Lower Jaws. This overtime reduces the extent to which an individual can open his or her mouth wide. It  affects effective mastication, yarning, speech,etc.

Eze, Ebenezer C.,Is presently a practicing Restorative dentist and a lecturer on same. He also heads the dental technology Department of College of health technology (Foreign Links Campus) Moro,Ife in Osun State Nigeria.

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