Your 40-year wedding anniversary is finally here. This night is not just any night out, but one to cherish the 40 years you and your loved one spent together. You should be ecstatic planning a five star night out at your favorite restaurant downtown, but why do you feel so anxious?
This is your one and only, your high school sweetheart, the John to your Yoko, yet you still feel self conscious around him when it comes to your smile.
Ever since you’ve been issued your first pair of dentures, your romantic life has been altered. No longer do you enjoy dining out with your spouse. Rather than an enjoyable night with your partner, going out to eat instantly transforms into a stressful and vulnerable environment for you. Just looking at the menu brings you to a nervous sweat. What foods can you even actually eat!?
Dining out is difficult with dentures.
With every bite comes the worry of getting food stuck in your teeth or your dentures slipping. In suave attempts to sneak off to the restroom in order to hide the shame of picking out food stuck underneath your dentures, you curse yourself for thinking you could do this in the first place. Why didn’t I just stay home?
Hundreds of thousands of denture wearers experience this same embarrassment and humiliation with their teeth. Not only are their love lives impacted, but also their confidence and social lives are strained. Besides the psychological effects, dentures also inhibit one’s ability to eat the foods they love and the foods they need to keep a balanced diet.
In the recent Biting Into Denture Care survey conducted by Survata and assigned by GSK Consumer Healthcare in May 2015, numerous denture wearers came to the forefront expressing the truth behind their teeth and the emotional and physical toll it’s taken on them. The results were shocking.
The Biggest Misconception of Denture Wearers
One of the most surprising statistics from the study was merely who the sample consisted of. Despite common misconceptions, dentures aren’t only for senior citizens. In fact, more than half (53%) of survey participants were 44 years old or younger when they were issued their first set of dentures.
At 44 years old you have the whole world ahead of you! You are at a high point in your career and dealing with the public on a regular basis. Nobody realizes how many people suffer from losing their teeth and at what age this battle begins. And with this battle comes the various incidents where dentures hinder your daily lifestyle, and this survey brings a denture wearer’s struggle to life.
Dentures and Their Toll on Romantic Relationships
Whether you are casually dating or currently in a 50 yearlong marriage, dentures still take a toll on your love life. Denture wearers may worry about bad breath, dentures dislodging, or getting food stuck in them, but no matter the stressor, 56% of survey respondents admitted to dentures impacting their love lives and 42% confessed the impact was negative. 24% of survey participants said they were afraid to kiss passionately, and men (23%) were reportedly more apprehensive about kissing with their dentures than women. Based on these results, it’s more than evident denture wearers are holding back from their romantic relationships out of self-consciousness of their teeth.
Denture Wearers Admit to Being Intimidated by Social Situations
For the majority of people, planning social outings with friends and family is enjoyable. Maybe it’s a weekend house warming party or the guys are getting together for the annual Fantasy Football Draft, either way it’s something to look forward to. According to denture wearers that’s not the case. 10% of survey respondents confessed to avoiding social outings, and 20% feel afraid to smile.
It’s difficult to image the stress and shame someone must feel while trying to keep a part of their lives secret. According to the survey more than half of denture wearers (63%) have kept their dentures hidden from someone, 32% have kept this secret from friends, 10% from siblings, and 7% have even kept their dentures hidden from their spouse.
Lower Confidence in a Professional Setting
Author David O. McKay once said “Let us realize that: the privilege to work is a gift, the power to work is a blessing, the love of work is success!” Although this is quite inspiring, many denture wearers tend to disagree.
Dentures may inhibit someone from reaching their full career potential through the lack of confidence they bring. Thanks to dentures, an entirely new glass ceiling has evolved. Around two in five (38%) respondents feel dentures negatively impact their careers. Networking with other professionals becomes a daunting task rather than a crucial step to excelling in one’s career field (37%). Moreover, 33% correlate their lack of confidence in meetings to their dentures, and 23% have even avoided job interviews because of their dentures.
A Complex Relationship with Food
It’s no secret the importance of a balanced, healthy diet. Food is an integral part of one’s routine,
and for the most part it’s something to look forward to.
However, denture wearers have an entirely new stressor when planning their meals – how will this pan out with my dentures? Will this be easy to eat? Is this likely to get stuck in my teeth? All of which are not something anyone wants to think about each time they're prepping for a meal.
Dentures inhibit your ability to eat certain foods.
The Biting Into Denture Care survey found the number one concern for more than half of the survey participants is getting food stuck in or underneath their dentures. In order to avoid these embarrassing circumstances, denture wearers tend to stray away from certain foods like corn on the cob (50%), apples (34%), nuts (33%), steak (23%), and beverages like coffee or tea, which are likely to stain teeth (8%).
Denture Wearers Believe They are Taking Immaculate Care of Their Teeth – But are They Really?
What most denture wearers can agree on is the importance of oral care, and around 80% feel as though they take the necessary measures to properly care for their teeth. However, studies show 89% of denture wearers aren’t correctly cleaning their dentures.
In order to achieve optimal oral health and well being, it’s essential to take every step necessary to ensure ideal oral hygiene is achieved and self-confidence is improved to overcome any denture-related obstacles. Obviously this is easier said than done. Most denture wearers believe they don’t need to change anything about their daily oral care routine, and building confidence with your new teeth doesn’t happen overnight.
Thankfully, advances in dental medicine have allowed for more efficient teeth replacement options, such as the All-on-4 dental implant concept. This procedure only uses four dental implants to replace an entire upper or lower set of teeth. With these permanent teeth, patients are living their lives to the fullest, not worrying about what foods they can eat or how they can get out of events on their social calendar. With all-on-4 and dental implants, there is no reason your teeth should hold you back any longer!
