Adhesive comes off due to poor fit, saliva, wet dentures, or overuse.
You are correctly applying the paste and are pressing down firmly on the denture. You give it some time. However, your dentures suddenly slip again after a short while.
There is no reason to feel as if you are the only one if the problem is so severe that you need to run to the bathroom to reapply glue every time.
This is what we usually observe in the clinic. People tend to blame themselves by thinking that they have purchased the wrong brand. The truth is quite the opposite. Your denture glue does not work because there is a biological reason behind it, not that the product is bad.
At Lema Dental Clinic, we have been treating hundreds of patients in Turkey with these issues for many years. Let us find out the reason for this.
Bones that Lose Volume
In order to delineate the problem, we must focus on what is happening inside the gums. Your jawbone is not getting proper blood flow when you have no teeth.
If you think of your jaw as a solid support for a house, then natural tooth roots are the deep pillars holding the earth in place. When you remove those pillars, the soil simply washes away. We call this in dentistry bone resorption.
The human jawbone is constantly shrinking and changing shape. Due to this, your hard plastic denture will soon be incompatible with your soft gums. In fact, you are trying to glue a piece of plastic to a foundation that is disappearing. The adhesion breaks down because the gap between your gums and the denture becomes too large.
Professor Doctor Coşkun Yıldız has pointed out that a typical error that patients make is that they try to increase the amount of glue in order to fill the gap. However, this is only going to make a mess. Besides, regularly ingesting zinc-based adhesives can negatively impact your health.
Saliva: Nature’s Adhesive Remover
Besides, why not take a closer look at your oral cavity? Only the human oral cavity can disintegrate food. It happens that strong enzymes fill your saliva.
Even if your dentures stay still for a moment, saliva sneaks in through the minute openings. Those enzymes destroy your denture glue at a high rate. No wonder, by the end of the day, your paste is totally gone.
Permanently Solving the Problem: Not Just a Tube Is Needed
That is why the debate is “how” and not “if”.
This is the focal point for Dentist Polen Akkılıç and her team. Instead of resorting to gluing dentures onto a shrinking gum line, we work on fixing the new teeth directly into the bone.
The last resort methods are All-on-4, All-on-6, or Zygomatic implants, introduced to patients with a very low bone quantity. These implants act as robust new pillars for your jaw. They can halt bone loss in its tracks. Later, we fit a permanent Zirconium bridge over these implants.
It is never displaced. It will never cause you sores. You will never require a tube of glue again.
Comparison of Your Choices
| Property | Dentures with Glue | Implant Bridge Fixed |
| Stability | Can slip while eating or speaking | Definitely fixed in place |
| Bone Health | Can accelerate bone loss | Preserves and protects jawbone |
| Hygiene | Requires daily removal and re-gluing | Simply brush like normal teeth |
| Bite Power | Only 20-30% of a natural bite | Up to 90-100% of a natural bite |
Answers To Your Questions
Is it common to apply adhesive several times a day?
Definitely not! If you use glue more than once a day, it is time to stop wearing your denture altogether. A hard reline or a permanent implant fix will be your options.
Is swallowing denture glue harmful to health?
Minor exposure is normally okay. Nevertheless, excessive amounts being ingested on a daily basis, together with the itch of the largest portion, will most definitely cause stomach pains. In the long run, the zinc-based paste can cause nerve diseases.
Why were my dentures last year comfortable, but now they fall out?
Your dentures did not change. Your jawbone did. Bone loss starts very soon after your teeth are gone.
What is the All-on-4 Turkey procedure you are referring to?
We insert the titanium implants directly into the jawbone in four locations. Then, we mount a full set of permanent teeth on those implants. We usually accomplish this in only one visit to Istanbul.
With dental implants, can I continue to use glue?
You won’t need it ever. They will lock their teeth directly onto the titanium posts inside the bone. There won’t be any place to glue. Every morning, you will be waking up with the real-feeling teeth.
Academic References
- Carlsson, G. E. (2014). Responses of jawbone to changing functional forces. Clinical Oral Implants Research, 25(S10), 10-15.
- Felton, D. A. (2009). Edentulism and comorbid factors. Journal of Prosthodontics, 18(2), 88-96.
- Polzer, I., Schimmel, M., Müller, F., & Biffar, R. (2010). Edentulism as part of the general health problems of elderly adults. International Dental Journal, 60(3), 143-155.
- Tallgren, A. (2003). The continuing reduction of the residual alveolar ridges in complete denture wearers: a mixed-longitudinal study covering 25 years. The Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry, 89(5), 427-435.
- Zarb, G. A., Hobkirk, J. A., Eckert, S. E., & Jacob, R. F. (2013). Prosthodontic Treatment for Edentulous Patients: Complete Dentures and Implant-Supported Prostheses (13th ed.). Elsevier Mosby.
