{"id":166,"date":"2025-05-05T17:39:01","date_gmt":"2025-05-05T17:39:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.robertawhitmoredds.com\/blog\/?p=166"},"modified":"2025-06-23T17:41:27","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T17:41:27","slug":"smile-sustenance-do-dentures-impact-my-nutrition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.robertawhitmoredds.com\/blog\/2025\/05\/05\/smile-sustenance-do-dentures-impact-my-nutrition\/","title":{"rendered":"Smile Sustenance: Do Dentures Impact My Nutrition?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Losing adult teeth can detract from your daily quality of life in several ways. Many patients feel self-conscious about the changes to their appearance, for example. Others develop a lisp or other changes in their speech patterns or gastrointestinal issues from swallowing insufficiently chewed pieces of food.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, your dentist can provide lifelike replacement teeth to rebuild your smile\u2019s appearance and functionality. However, many people wonder how their restoration impacts their nutrition. If you\u2019re considering being fitted with dentures<\/a>, continue reading to learn more about it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

How Much Bite Force Do Dentures Restore?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tooth loss can result in changes to your diet that detract from your general health. For instance, you might develop malnutrition if you can\u2019t bite into or chew harder options, like tough cuts of meat or raw fruits and veggies. Furthermore, you could experience an upset stomach or digestive concerns from consuming bites that haven\u2019t been pulverized sufficiently to be easily swallowed and digested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dentures rely on a firm suction against the bony ridges in your mouth to remain in place, which restores an estimated 25% of your original bite force so you can enjoy a wider variety of ingredients to support your oral and overall well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Do Dentures Impact Nutrition?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019d be easy to assume that your improved bite force naturally results in better nutrition, but that\u2019s not necessarily the case for patients with dentures. One study shared by the Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University School of Dentistry revealed information that led to surprising conclusions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this project, researchers matched the dental records of over 10k patients in Indiana with medical laboratory data that included specific markers for malnutrition. Then, they compared the lab results from two years before someone received dentures to two years afterward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shockingly, they found that those with these restorations showed a significant decline in certain marks over people who didn\u2019t wear prosthetics. It\u2019s believed this is partly because they don\u2019t return enough bite force, so it\u2019s still difficult to bite and chew with them in place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Can I Improve My Nutrition with Dentures?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, there are things you can do to improve your diet with your new teeth, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n