Dentures falling off can be a pain for the wearer. Across the Atlantic, however, it can bring one of the world’s busiest highways to a standstill.
In Spain, a motorcyclist lost his dentures upon sneezing, prompting him to stop and look for it. As his search stirred up heavy traffic along Madrid’s busy highway, two officers had to step in and tell the man to get going for his safety’s sake. The story as told by the Associated Press couldn’t confirm whether or not he found his dentures.
The man most likely wore traditional dentures, which consist of false teeth and a plastic mold that has been custom-fitted to the wearer’s mouth. This type of dentures is the result of more than a century’s worth of evolution from the first acrylic dentures that came out in the early 1900’s.
Prior to this, false teeth made use of costly materials like ivory and vulcanite. Even further back, dentures were made with a steel frame and real animal and human teeth—the kind of dentures that George Washington used. Not only were these hard to use, they were also unsightly, which made it hard for the American hero to talk in public.
While traditional dentures have come a long way from their predecessors, they still left much room for improvement. Unfortunately, human jawbone is susceptible to change, especially with harmful habits like smoking. A shrinking jawbone, which isn’t unusual as a person ages, can loosen dentures’ grip on the jawbone. As such, denture wearers should see their dentists for refitting and rebasing after a few years.
Thankfully, when dental implants were introduced in the latter half of the 20th century, a window of opportunity was opened up in denture technology. Dental implants have spawned a new type of false teeth, known as denture implants, which assures a more secure attachment to the mouth, and better and longer structural retention.
In denture implants, a set of false teeth are attached to the gums through tiny posts implanted into the jawbones. The process requires some surgery to place the implants, but the result is prosthesis that won’t detach or fall off easily. With well-placed denture implants, wearers can avoid embarrassing moments when talking or eating.
Overall, quality permanent dentures, as offered in reputable dental offices like Dentures Done Right, are a game-changer in the field of teeth replacement. Had the Madrid motorcyclist been wearing one of them, he could have avoided the notoriety of causing a massive traffic jam by losing his teeth.
(Source: Traffic snarled after biker loses false teeth, Associated Press [c/o WTSP], April 29, 2014)
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