7 Things you didn’t know about Dentures

July 27th, 2009. By AbiK

With all the news lately about denture creams like Fixodent and Poligrip being linked to neurological disorders as a result of their potential to contribute to zinc build-up and, ultimately, zinc poisoning, it got me thinking about dentures—and how little I know about them. Also, I recently found out my mother-in-law wears them (yes, after 15 years, I had no clue, dispelling the myth that they’re “soooo obvious”). So I wanted to learn more. Here, some fascinating and fun facts about dentures… 

1. Wonder who wears dentures? Wonder no more. According to orawave.com, the following shows the percent of American denture-wearers by age group:

35 – 44             16%

45 – 54             29%

55 – 64             51%

65 – 74             57%

Most interesting though is that dentures are not only for the over-50 set: the Orawave site also shows that 3% of Americans ages 18 – 34 wear dentures. Basing that on 2000 census figures, that’s close to 2 million “younger” people who wear dentures. Given their young age, they might be more self-conscious about wearing them and, therefore, might rely more heavily on denture cream.

2. According to the CDC’s December, 2006 report of “Oral Health for Older Americans“, 25% of adults aged 60 and older no longer have natural teeth.

3. The same report indicates that data on “toothlessness” varies greatly by state. Apparently, for Americans aged 65 and older, 42% of West Virginians experienced total tooth loss, while only 13% of Californians did. Go figure.

4. Women smile 62 times a day compared to only 8 times a day for men. That seems like quite a difference, but that’s what deltadentalmn.org reports.

5. Given the above, maybe it’s no wonder that orawave.com shares that women are more likely than men to have a “porcelain grin”—24% compared to 19%.

6. Dentures are not exactly a new invention. Ok, everyone’s heard about George Washington’s oral health—yes, he wore dentures—but dentures can be traced to 700 BC (orawave.com)

7. The gentleman shown above, Dubois de Chémant perfected the porcelain denture with Parisian pharmacist Alexis Duchateau. de Chemant received a patent in England for his “mineral paste” teeth in 1791 (beckerexhibits.wustl.edu). Sadly, this would not have been in time for George Washington’s inaugural photo op—uh, portrait op—in 1789.

Tags: denture cream

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