Sick of Not Being Able to Enjoy Almond Brittle at X-mas?

Hello Again! Only Two and a half weeks til X-mas...Wow!

I was in Columbus Ohio listening to Dr. Duke Heller speak this weekend about patients who couldn't chew their food because of poorly fitting dentures. He mentioned where a group of patients who had ulcers were studied and found that 83% of the patients who had ulcers in their stomach were denture wearers.

I had read and understood that the digestive process of breaking down your food so your body can absorb the nutrients begins in your mouth. The saliva and salivary amylase (enzyme) starts the process of digesting the carbohydrates, fats and proteins in your mouth. When your food is not properly chewed and the enzymes and acids in your mouth don't get the opportunity to begin breaking down the food, then the stomach has to work overtime.

Because the food didn't get properly chewed and broken down in your mouth, the stomach must produce a higher level of acid to break down the food in your stomach. That additional acid can cause heartburn, ulcers, an irritable colon or diarrhea.

The loss of chewing power among those patients with dentures is also significant. People with all of their natural teeth can chew their food with 540 pounds per square inch (PSI). People with full dentures can only "chomp down" with 50 PSI!

This loss of chewing efficiency prevents people from eating sufficient amounts of fruits, vegetables and proteins, such as meats and nuts.

The harmful effects on the stomach lining affects the absorption of vitamins and minerals in the stomach and intestines.

Chronic nutritional deficiencies increase health risks such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. A 2001 Japanese study found that people who still had their natural teeth lived an average of 6 years longer than those who were denture wearers.

OK, OK...so we understand what people lose when they lose their teeth. The neatest part of the weekend was when Dr. Rob Heller showed some very interesting ways he stabilized partial dentures and full dentures for his patients. He showed one of his patients who only had four of their small incisors in the front remaining on their lower jaw. This patient couldn't tolerate her removable partial because it moved around so much and made her mouth sore. Rob placed two small implants just behind these four teeth, put ball attachments on them and made her partial snap onto these two little balls.

You should have heard what the patient had to say about this new arrangement! She could chew again. She was able to use her old partial...in other words, she didn't have to pay for a new one! If you have trouble chewing your food because of missing teeth or poorly fitting dentures, you should know that there are options today that were just not available prior to now.

One of my favorite patients has this Almond brittle recipe that is "to die for". She always brings me some at Christmas. Don't miss out on those little things in life... now that things can be so easily fixed!