Three Tips for Dealing with New Dentures

Removable dentures restore their wearer’s smile, speech, and ability to chew; to a large extent. They are a relatively quick and hassle-free replacement for missing teeth. This is not to say that you will automatically take to your new dentures like a fish to water. It is normal to go through an adjustment period punctuated with false starts and stumbles. Luckily, a few simple hacks can help you adjust to life with your new dentures.

What to expect when starting with dentures

Like any prosthetic, dentures will feel alien for the first couple of days. Many report a sensation like their dentures are way too big and too loose for their mouth. Also, people new to dentures often deal with speech difficulties.

A first-time wearer of dentures also has to re-learn how to chew and move food around their mouth. Soreness is another common complaint with new users of dentures. Lastly, a new set of dentures could cause dry mouth or excessive saliva production. The following sections offer tips to deal with these challenges.

1. Confirm that the dentures are a good fit

Discomfort is a common complaint with people adjusting to the reality of dentures. It could be the soreness that develops from suddenly having prosthetics sitting on the gums. It could be the sensation of having a foreign contraption in the mouth. These experiences are normal.

That said, it is important for the wearer to know the difference between a normal level of discomfort and a bad fit. Here are a few signs that are cause for worry:

• Pressure sores on the gums that cause raw skin and sometimes bleeding
• Pain in the muscles of the cheeks and jaws that persists for days or weeks
• Slippage that fails to improve after a few days

These are tell-tale signs that a set of dentures needs adjusting. It bears mentioning that people with newly extracted teeth should follow specific instructions on how to handle the recovery process.

2. Practice and relearn certain words

Anyone new to dentures will need to relearn how to pronounce a bunch of words. Reading aloud or singing can accelerate the learning process. These exercises train the mouth, lips, and tongue to account for the prosthetics when forming certain words.

3. Make dietary adjustments with an emphasis on good nutrition

Dentures are no substitute for teeth with anchors below the gumline. This means that foods like nuts and chewy meat will make for a difficult meal. A person adjusting to life with dentures will have to work around this limitation.

The workaround is as simple as identifying soft but nutritious foods. When it comes to meat, the person should switch to ground meat or cuts of meat that are easy to chew. It helps to cut up solid foods into small, manageable pieces.

We will take care of all your oral health needs, dentures included

Our practice offers services that cover the fitting, maintenance, and repair of dentures. Go ahead and get in touch with us if you need help with anything to do with your dentures. Our team is happy to work with you to deliver a brilliant, functional smile.

Request an appointment here: https://smilesonmichigan.com or call Smiles On Michigan at (312) 509-9492 for an appointment in our Chicago office.

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