Adjusting to Life with Dentures

When you get new dentures, it’s a big event in your life, and at Pioneer Dental Group we strive to make your adjustment as smooth and easy as possible. 

Dr. Behzad Binafard and our team of caring tooth restoration experts customize your dentures to be comfortable and easy to wear. Today’s blog covers a few of our top recommendations for adjusting to life with dentures. 

Eat denture-friendly foods

In the early days and weeks, your dentures are still settling into your mouth. They may feel slightly loose or unstable, but during this time your cheek and tongue muscles are essentially training themselves to support your new dentures. 

Your gums are also adapting and changing in response to the dentures. After your mouth adjusts, your dentures won’t feel loose or odd in your mouth anymore. 

Because this is a normal expected part of adjusting to dentures, it’s important to avoid worsening the feeling of instability by eating foods that cause the dentures to shift. So, initially, you need to stick with soft foods that don’t require too much chewing. 

You can gradually work your way back to more challenging foods, but in general it’s best to avoid super sticky and hard foods, as they can even present problems for natural teeth. If you had braces, you might remember that crunching on ice, chewing popcorn kernels, or eating chewy caramels were forbidden. You can apply the same general guidelines to dentures. 

Practice speaking with your dentures in 

Dentures can definitely affect the way you speak when they’re brand new. As you lose teeth, you gradually adapt to that change, so you might not notice a big shift at that time. But, with dentures, you replace all your missing teeth at once, so it’s a bigger adjustment.

Practicing speaking — or reading aloud, or singing along to your favorite songs — can help you adjust to your new teeth and learn how to enunciate better. This practice can help you feel more confident when speaking to others, too. 

Soothe sore gums

It’s natural to have a bit of gum soreness as you grow accustomed to dentures, but it need not progress to a serious sore or major pain. As soon as you experience mild discomfort, use a salt water rinse: Combine eight ounces of lukewarm water and one teaspoon of salt, mix well, and swish around your mouth. 

This simple rinse can soothe irritated gums and helps encourage the healing process. Of course, if your gums are severely inflamed or painful, reach out to our office right away, as we may need to make some adjustments to your dentures.

Our Pioneer Dental Group team is here to support you as you acclimate to your dentures, and we’re always available to help. If you’re interested in dentures or need expert denture care, contact our office in Norwalk, California today.