If you’ve suffered from tooth loss, you probably have already experienced frustration with the changes it brings. Struggling with basic tasks like eating, speaking, and smiling can have a detrimental impact on your daily quality of life. Fortunately, your dentist can rebuild your grin with dentures. These versatile prosthetics can be adapted to replace a few or all your missing teeth. You’ll once again be able to speak clearly and enjoy meals with loved ones.
Learning to chew with dentures does require some time and patience, though. It can take about a month for your mouth to acclimate to your restoration. It’s crucial to be kind to yourself during this adjustment period, as your muscles relearn the basics. In the meantime, keep reading for 3 helpful tips to guide you through this process!
Tip #1: Start Softly
Your teeth play a crucial role in your diet, and there’s a good chance that when yours went missing, you lost out on some of your favorite foods. Gaps in your grin make it hard to bite into or thoroughly mash up foods that are hard or tough, like fruits, vegetables, and certain meats.
Although it’s natural to feel eager to make up for lost time once you get dentures, you may want to start with soft foods first. The ridges in your mouth that support them are bound to be somewhat sore after holding them in place all day. Plus, your gums are probably tender, too, and you don’t want to irritate them. You’ll have an easier time with options like applesauce, pudding, scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, or warm soups. Then, once your mouth is less sensitive, you can graduate to more solid selections.
Tip #2: Chew Intentionally
You may not realize it, but there’s a high probability that you tend to chew your food more on one side of your mouth than the other, as many people do. When you’re wearing dentures, that means the side you use more frequently sustains more pressure, which can dislodge them.
Many patients have better luck keeping their restoration in place by chewing very slowly and distributing their food evenly in their mouths. This kind of mindful eating is more likely to ensure that your prosthetics remain stable and secure.
Tip #3: Watch What You Eat
After a couple of weeks, you may suddenly find that you’ve forgotten about your dentures during meals. This is a clear sign that you’re successfully adapting to having them in your mouth, which is great news! However, it can also harm your artificial teeth because you are more likely to eat something that can harm them without realizing it.
Even after you feel comfortable chewing with your prosthetics in your mouth, you should still keep away from certain foods. Steer clear of anything overly hard that can chip or break them. Also, sticky foods can dislodge them and should be avoided.
Now that you know more about acclimating to eating with dentures, you’ll enjoy a much smoother transition to your new life with a restored smile!
About the Practice
At Elwood Avenue Dental, patients benefit from the expertise of two highly skilled dentists who offer a full array of services under one roof, including dentures. They take their time to get to understand your dental concerns so that if a problem arises, they can quickly create fully individualized treatment plans to address it. With state-of-the-art equipment in the office, they can enhance your comfort while increasing result accuracy. Also, their friendly staff makes every effort to ensure every patient feels welcomed into a friendly environment to help set your mind at ease. If you need to replace missing teeth and want an appointment, you can request one on the website or by calling (918) 299-2298.