Wearing new dentures can be an exciting time; however, it can also come with some hesitation and uncertainty. If this is the first time to receive these custom prosthetics, you may be unaware of what you should expect, especially within the first month of wearing them. While you can certainly prepare for an adjustment phase, keep reading to discover what else you need to know about your new and improved smile.
Proper Wear Time
After receiving dentures, it’s important that you keep them in for a full 24 hours initially, especially if you previously underwent tooth extraction. This will give your gums the best chance to heal. However, you should not expect to wear your teeth each night when going to bed, as they need time to soak and undergo a thorough cleaning. This also allows your gums and bones to enjoy a reprieve from the continuous pressure your dentures place on them all day.
Soreness & Discomfort
It’s common to experience some slight discomfort and soreness in the first month of wearing dentures. This is normal because your mouth needs time to adjust to these new prosthetics. Their design may look like natural teeth, but your gums, tongue, cheeks, and remaining structures will know better.
Taking an over-the-counter pain reliever can help reduce the discomfort you feel but be sure that you do not remove your dentures throughout the day. It may be tempting, but your mouth needs to properly adjust to your new teeth.
Speech
You might think that as soon as you start wearing your new dentures you’ll be able to speak clearly and no longer slur your words. Unfortunately, for many patients, this is not the case. You’ll require practice while speaking with your dentures, which means reading aloud or slowly enunciating harder-to-pronounce words or phrases.
Your tongue and artificial teeth must learn to work together properly to create a fluid sound, but this can take time – the kind that will require diligence and patience during the first month of wear.
Eating Certain Foods
After spending so much time without teeth, you may be eager to bite down on a juicy hamburger or savory steak; however, you’ll need to wait a little longer. Within the first month, you should expect to stick to a soft food diet.
The reason for this is that you will need to learn how to chew properly without causing your teeth to slip or fall out. This means learning how to chew with both sides of your mouth. Not to mention, soft foods help prevent additional discomfort, which is likely during the first 30 days.
Once you start healing and feel somewhat like your normal self, you can cut up your food into smaller pieces so that you pay more attention to how you eat and avoid accidental embarrassment.
You’ll find several aftercare instructions that can help you better prepare for dentures that your dentist can provide. Simply start with these and keep looking forward to the day you can eat, speak, smile, and enjoy your beautiful new smile.
About the Authors
Dr. Aaron Swingdorf and Dr. Luke Viall are dental experts who provide custom-made dentures as a way to restore and rebuild patients’ smiles. When preparing a person for what life will be like immediately following the placement of these prosthetics, we can provide established guidelines to help them successfully navigate the process. If you are considering dentures but want to know what to expect, contact us at (952) 448-4151 or visit our website to find out how we can help.
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