Listen or Read Dr. Vitale’s Monthly Podcast Interview!
Topic – Dentures
Below you will find an easy to read transcript of Dr. John Vitale’s interview on the razorcast™ monthly podcast. You can either watch the video to listen to the podcast or simply read the easy to follow transcript below. Enjoy!
Podcast Interview:
RC: Hello everyone, this is Liz Harvey coming to you from our razorcast™ studios in New York City where we are dedicated to bringing you top quality advice from many of the leading expert professionals across the United States.
In today’s episode, we are speaking with Dr. John Vitale. Dr. Vitale is the founder of Dr. John R. Vitale, DMD at Port Liberte, a general dentistry and cosmetic dentistry practice in Jersey City, New Jersey. He has an extensive dental background that began at Iona College and then at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Dr. Vitale has been practicing in the area for over 35 years and is currently a member of the International Congress of Implantology. He is also certified in BOTOX® and dermal fillers and he continues his education in the dental field with monthly classes. Dr. Vitale has also had the pleasure of traveling to Honduras and Panama to provide charity dental care to needy patients.
Dr. Vitale is widely considered to be one of the top dentists in the country and he is also a contributing member of our national network of industry professionals.
Today we are going to talk about a very important topic: Dentures
RC: Hi Dr. Vitale. How are you today?
Dr. John Vitale: I’m fine, thank you. How are you?
RC: I’m great. Thanks for joining us.
Question 1: What are dentures and how do they work?
RC: To jump right in, can you please explain what dentures are and how they work?
Dr. John Vitale: Sure, it would be my pleasure. Dentures are removable appliances that are placed over ridges in people’s mouths, the upper ridge and the lower ridge or the top teeth and the bottom teeth. People generally have dentures because they have no teeth and that’s how they work. We place them in your mouth; we adjust your bite; we get you so that aesthetically you look okay and that you can function as best that you can with removable appliances. They have their disadvantages but for the most part, they work.
Question 2: Why would people choose dentures that are removable over dental implants?
RC: Okay great and why would people choose dentures that are removable over dental implants?
Dr. John Vitale: I think the primary reasons are twofold. The first reason being implant dentures are more expensive to do than removable dentures and the second reason and it’s probably a big reason is because of fear of the unknown. People just don’t fully understand what the dental implant and what the denture over the implant does for them as opposed to a removable denture. We find that people who have the financial wherewithal or are able to afford an implant denture once they are informed of what we can do and we do it, they choose the implant denture over the removable denture.
Question 3: Is denture adhesive optional or necessary? What kind do you recommend?
RC: Okay and is denture adhesive optional or necessary and what kind do you recommend to your patients?
Dr. John Vitale: Dental adhesive is optional; for some people it is necessary. People who present with very small ridges, not a lot of bone in their mouth, are candidates for denture adhesives. Generally, people need a dental adhesive on their lower denture as opposed to their upper denture because with the upper denture you have two forms of a seal. One being in the back of your mouth called a post palatable area and the actual palate. The seal is formed by your saliva adhering to the top of your mouth and at the juncture of your hard and soft palate in the back. On the bottom, we don’t have that. On the bottom, you have an appliance that sits on a ridge. There are no areas of adhesion to the underlying bone and you have the tongue which is the big enemy and tends to dislodge the lower denture many times so we always recommend having a denture adhesive placed.
RC: And did you mention if there was a particular brand you recommend?
Dr. John Vitale: There really isn’t. I have found over the years, I’ve used Poligrip and we do recommend Poligrip. However, we find that some people get better results. For whatever reasons – they like the way it tastes better. They all basically adhere or help your dentures adhere to your mouth basically the same way. But some, for taste, ease of application – different reasons, they use different ones.
Question 4: What type of challenges do people experience with wearing dentures for the first time?
RC: Okay and what type of challenges do people experience with wearing dentures for the first time? So if someone were listening to this right now trying to get more information about dentures, what would you say would be something that they might experience that they’d have to overcome after they get their dentures?
Dr. John Vitale: Well, the first thing that happens when people get full dentures is they start to salivate like crazy. And the reason why is because your brain tends to think the things that are in your mouth are food and so it starts a chain of salivation. So what I generally recommend is that a patient after they get their dentures, they suck on a hard candy so that they can get the saliva moving and after a couple of days that stops. But the biggest challenge for individuals – a twofold. Number one, when you have an upper and lower full denture that’s totally removable with no implants, you bite with about 10% of the pressure that you would normally bite with if you had teeth in your mouth. So we are looking at about 70lbs of pressure per square inch for your biting ability as opposed to 700lbs per square inch when you have normal teeth or when you have denture teeth with implants. So there is a very big difference. So what we see is that people can’t really gnaw into foods like they normally did before. They have to cut their foods and they have to watch the way they masticate or chew up and down with their teeth so they don’t dislodge them. So there is a getting used to time and generally it takes anywhere from two days to a month – month and a half before people start to feel comfortable wearing their dentures.
Question 5: How long is a set of dentures expected to last?
RC: Okay that’s good advice and then my last question. How long is a set of dentures expected to last?
Dr. John Vitale: Well like everything else in life, let’s take an older adult. You know, over time people gain weight and lose weight. And when you gain weight, you gain weight in your mouth just as you do in the rest of your body. When you lose weight, you lose weight in your mouth just like you do with your body. So after a period of time, generally two years, we like to see a patient back in the office so that we can evaluate them to see whether their denture is still fitting properly or whether it’s beginning to ill-fit in the mouth. If it does, then we do what we call a laboratory realign- send it back out to the laboratory after an impression to get them fitted again so that they fit properly. But the life expectancy of a denture is probably five to seven years. I know many people keep them in their mouth for thirty but it’s like anything else. You change so much in five years that the prosthetic device in your mouth has to change with you.
RC: Got it. Well that makes a lot of sense. So that was it for the questions. Thank you so much Dr. Vitale.
Dr. John Vitale: It’s been my pleasure.
RC: Alright and for our listeners across the country, if you are interested in speaking with Dr. John Vitale, you can either go online at www.drjohnrvitale.com or call 201-521-9800 to schedule an appointment.
On behalf of our entire team at razorcast™, we want to thank you for listening and we look forward to bringing you more top quality content from our country’s leading industry professionals.
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