Dentures and Dentist

Dentures and Dentist

How to Survive your First Month of Wearing Dentures

Julian Andrews

Even with the best dental hygiene practices, our teeth have an expiry date. When this happens, whether due to age, or trauma to the face, tasks like eating become a challenge. Most people organise for dentures because they bring back that beautiful smile, and it becomes possible to go back to chewing tough foods. The whole idea seems perfect until the dentures are in the mouth for the first 24 hours, your gums are sore, your jaw is aching, and you start wondering why you thought dentures were a great idea.

Here are a few simple tips that will come in handy if you want to survive your first month of wearing dentures.

Change your diet

When you start wearing your dentures, you will have to make a few minor adjustments to your diet. Replace the tough and chewy foods with soft and easy to break down foods such as fish, well-cooked vegetables, eggs and yoghurt. Train yourself to eat tougher foods progressively until you are entirely comfortable with a regular diet. The adjustment is a process that can take between two weeks and two months, so, be patient with yourself.

Understand which soreness is normal or abnormal

Most dentists will tell you that you should expect some level of soreness when you start wearing new dentures because they are a foreign object in the mouth. However, there is an acceptable level of pain and an indicator that there are problems. If the dentures are causing you actual pain, and leaving you with sores, they might be poorly fitted. Also, remember that your gums are not supposed to be covered in dentures all day, remove them when sleeping to give your mouth and gums a rest.

Practice speaking with dentures

Speaking is probably the biggest challenge you will face once you start wearing dentures. The most challenging sounds to articulate with dentures are those containing 'f' and 's' sounds. It may help to practice talking loudly in front of a mirror to avoid sounding funny. Another trick which works is biting down on the dentures just before you start speaking, and swallowing. These actions push the dentures to the right position and make talking easier.

Other tricks that will help you manage the first month of dentures include doing a salt rinse every evening and making regular visits to the dentist so that they can adjust the dentures as needed. Within a few weeks, your dentures will start feeling very natural. To learn more about adjusting to dentures, contact local services such as Emergency Denture Repairs.


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About Me
Dentures and Dentist

Hello, my name is Jack. I am now 79 years old. As you can imagine, my teeth have taken something of a battering over the years. I lost a couple of teeth in a bar fight, four more decayed and one had to be extracted when it became infected. After losing so many teeth, my dentist suggested that I have dentures fitted. I was worried about this but my dentist was really great. He helped explain the procedure and then did an excellent job. I love my new dentures and I wanted to start this blog to offer help to others.

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