Adjusting to New Dentures

Just like braces or a crown, new dentures can take a minute to get used to. Having a foreign object rubbing against your teeth and gums may feel uncomfortable to begin with, but over time you’ll adjust and adapt, leaving only positive benefits to your daily lifestyle.

With a few helpful techniques, any slight difficulties speaking and eating can be improved upon – little patience and regular practice goes a long way. Below are some valuable tips and tricks to help you adjust to your new dentures, and embrace your beautiful new smile!

What are the benefits of getting new dentures?

There are many reasons why people opt for new dentures, leading to varying positive results for each person. Typical advantages include greater ease with eating and chewing, and clearer pronunciation when speaking. Quality dentures not only replace missing teeth, but act as a durable support for other teeth and gum.

Adjusting to dentures

Having some issues or discomfort in the initial stages is absolutely normal, as any mouth needs time to adapt to the presence of the new dentures – here are some helpful tips:

Give your cheeks a workout

Just like the rest of our bodies, it’s possible to work-out a certain area to increase its strength and control. Cheek muscles are responsible for moving the food from your mouth toward your throat for swallowing, so practising a few exercises can increase the success of this endeavour, as well as speech.

Try opening your mouth wide with your tongue out, and make a roar sound for 5 seconds to open your throat – repeat a few times.
Widen your mouth to an “O” while smiling, lifting your cheeks up and down for 30 seconds.
Sing your heart out! Singing fluidly is a great way to adjust your mouth to form words clearly, and helps you get used to dentures’ presence in your mouth faster.

Rinse and repeat

When adjusting to your dentures, you may find your mouth is over-producing saliva along with the appearance of sore spots. Rinse regularly with salty water to stop infection and reduce the pain.

Soft foods are key

Your mouth is having to adjust to the presence of new dentures, so eat only soft food for a few weeks before working slowly up to solid foods. Yoghurt, smoothies, mashed potatoes, and blended veggies are good options – make sure to eat nutritious foods to aid in your body’s adjustment and recovery.

Adhesives can help

Dental adhesives are a great way to improve how comfortable your new dentures feel, providing a firmer fit that can reduce irritation. Apply small amounts in key areas, and be sure to follow your treatment plan to ensure a speedy healing process.

How do you take care of new dentures?

The best way to adapt to getting new dentures is looking after both your oral health and the denture structures themselves. Everyone responds differently to tooth replacements like dentures, so taking care of them greatly boosts recovery time.

Rinse your dentures after every meal, and clean your mouth with a soft brush at the same time to dislodge food particles.
Make sure not to drop the dentures, and always leave them in a safe spot.
Brush the dentures well each night, to prevent bacteria taking hold.
Soak them overnight in either water or a recommended denture cleaning solution, as this ensures they keep their shape.
Rinse them in the morning before repositioning them, and clean them if needed.
Book regular check-ups with your trusted denture experts at EDR, who can spot potential issues and poor fits before they cause further issues.

Quality new dentures with EDR

Emergency Denture Repair provides an extensive range of dentistry solutions to our many valued Perth clients, and are adept at helping anyone adjusting to dentures, as well as repairing and replacing them when needed.

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