Tips for Adjusting to Life With Dentures

Dentures — either partial or full — are a great option if you’re missing teeth. They restore the function of your mouth and boost your confidence. Dr. Lovely Manlapaz Teodoro creates custom-made dentures right here in our Hercules, California, office — no third-party lab needed!

There’s no denying that dentures can transform your life, improve your oral health, and boost your confidence, but there’s still an adjustment period when it comes to life with dentures. 

Below, Dr. Teodoro shares these six tips to help make this a smooth transition for you.

1. Practice eating

When you receive your dentures, it’s not uncommon to feel like your dentures are too big. Your tongue as well as the muscles in your mouth will adjust, and soon they’ll help keep your dentures in place. However, as your tongue and oral muscles are learning to work with your dentures, you may need to practice eating. Keep these tips in mind as you start to eat with your dentures:

• Focus first with soft foods, such as mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, yogurt, soup
• Cut your food into very small pieces as you learn to chew with dentures
• Bite carefully 
• Chew each bite thoroughly 
• Avoid using just one side of your mouth; chew on both sides of your mouth
• Avoid very sticky or very hard foods 

Tip: If you  have full dentures, you’ll have a hard palette on the top denture. It may be hard to judge the temperature of food at first. Until you learn how to judge the temperature of food, stick with lukewarm soup to avoid burns. 

2. Continue to wear your dentures

Practice makes perfect! The more you wear your dentures, the quicker you’ll adapt to them. The more you practice eating and speaking with your dentures, the more confident you’ll feel wearing them out in public.

3. Practice talking

Just like you practice eating with dentures, you can practice speaking with dentures too. Speaking clearly gets easier the more  you practice. 

Here are some ideas you can try:

• Read from a book out loud
• Practice speaking in front of the mirror 
• Call a friend or family member to practice talking to another person

Don’t feel embarrassed; everyone has an adjustment period!

4. Continue your oral care routine 

Good oral hygiene is just as important whether you have dentures or not. Part of your new routine with dentures is getting used to cleaning them daily. Use a specific denture brush and denture cleaner to clean them each night. Soak them overnight according to the instructions on your denture cleanser/soaking solution.

It’s also important to continue to brush your gums, tongue, and the roof of your mouth. If you have partial dentures, continue to brush your remaining teeth as normal. You’ll also benefit from routine dental appointments to inspect your gums and any remaining teeth, and to monitor your oral health. 

5. Give your gums a rest

There’s no need to sleep in your dentures. In fact, it’s a good idea to give your gums a rest. Take your dentures out and soak them while you sleep. This keeps your dentures clean while allowing your gums to breathe for a few hours.

6. Don’t ignore a loose fit 

Denture adhesive is helpful, but if you find that you constantly need to use a lot of it, your dentures might be too loose. Loose-fitting dentures aren’t just a nuisance. They can cause oral sores or mouth lesions, but thankfully, it’s an easy fix. Dentures can be adjusted to improve the fit in your mouth. Over time, dentures may need to be relined periodically to conform to any changes to the shape of your gums. This is normal.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to us if your dentures are uncomfortable, or if you have questions about life with your new dentures. Whether you’re just not exploring whether or not dentures are right for you, or if you need help adjusting to your new dentures, we are here to help you. You can reach our Hercules, California, office at 510-254-3328, or you can request a consultation with us online.