If you have missing teeth, you might think dentures will let you enjoy meals like before. After all, they’re “false teeth” that are supposed to help you chew food. However, dentures can actually worsen your sense of taste in some cases. Should that happen, you may not get the nutrition a healthy body needs. That being said, there are ways to keep this taste change from happening. To learn more, here’s a summary of the connection between dentures and taste from your Frisco dentist.
How Do Dentures Affect Taste?
Sometimes the issue stems from a denture’s structure. For example, a full upper denture may have a base plate that covers your palate’s taste buds. The result would be a diminished sense of flavor, though this effect could fade with time.
On the other hand, your taste might decline due to a poor denture fit. Since you’d likely use special creams in that situation, the adhesive’s metallic flavor could overwhelm you. Adding insult to injury, the excess creams might not help much with the fitting problem.
Lastly, keep in mind that dentures build up food deposits and stains. Besides affecting your smile’s looks, though, this buildup can contribute to taste loss. It’s hard to sense a flavorful steak if you can only taste last week’s ravioli, right?
Why Does it Matter?
If you can’t taste food properly, you may lack the motivation to eat beyond the minimum to avoid starving. Of course, that could put you at risk of malnutrition and other digestive issues.
It could also push you to the opposite extreme and lead to overeating certain foods. For example, you might try to compensate by having more sweets, which could trigger diabetes. The issue might also prompt you to eat more salt, something that’s bad for cardiovascular health.
Ways to Improve Taste Sensation
Thankfully, you can keep your dentures from harming your sense of taste. Just follow these tips in the future:
- Try Dental Implants – Implant dentures don’t need a base plate, so they wouldn’t cover the taste receptors in your mouth.
- Get Better-Fitting Dentures – Switch out your dentures for ones that fit better. That way, you won’t need to rely as much on metallic-tasting denture creams.
- Clean Your Dentures Regularly – If you remember to brush, floss, and soak your dentures properly, you can avoid food deposits that harm taste.
If you’re not careful, dentures and taste in Frisco could affect your meals’ flavor more than they should. As such, follow the tips above to ensure that doesn’t happen.
About the Practice
Stonebriar Smile Design is based in Frisco, TX. As led by Drs. Jill Wade, Kristi Moody, and Jodi Danna, our practice offers patients the best possible dental care. In particular, we perform preventive, cosmetic, and restorative dentistry, including dental restorations like dentures and implants. Our office can also provide you with dental sedation upon request. For more information or to book a visit, reach us on our website or by phone at (469)-361-0081.
