You likely didn’t hop onto your first bicycle and take off like a pro or read and write your name perfectly the first moment you were shown the alphabet. So, it makes sense that your new dentures may come with a learning curve, too. Here’s a closer look at how to speed up the adjustment period to your beautiful restorations so you can speak and eat with them like second nature and make the most of your gorgeous new grin!
Tooth Talk: Speaking Clearly in Your New Dentures
The good news is that after a brief adjustment period, eating and speaking with dentures should become old hat. However, in the first few days and weeks, it can be a bit tricky. That’s because your mouth isn’t used to wearing restorations and must learn which muscles to maneuver to get them to work properly without coming loose or causing a lisp. To help speed up this process, your prosthodontist recommends practicing the following:
- Be sure to bite, chew, and swallow your food before attempting to speak while dining to prevent your restorations from slipping when you talk.
- Converse as often as you can. If there’s nobody around to talk to, read aloud or narrate your day to yourself.
- Practice counting from 60 to 90 several times a day, as these numbers contain more complex sounds that may be a challenge to pronounce.
Should your dentures generate any weird sounds such as clicking noises while you’re talking, this is an important sign to speak a bit slower. Usually, this happens when the muscles in your tongue, lips, and cheeks attempt to push your restorations out of your mouth, but it should eventually stop on its own once they get used to them.
Mastering Meals
Eating with dentures is another area where some patients initially struggle, but enjoying a soft diet for the first few weeks can help make it a lot easier. Simply load up your plate with delicious, filling foods like scrambled eggs, mashed potatoes, yogurt, applesauce, or anything else that doesn’t require much chewing. Then, as it becomes easier to break down these items, expand your diet to denser options.
Remember, wearing dentures is a new skill just like learning to swim or fly a kite. While it may take a little practice and ingenuity at first, with time and a bit of practice, you’ll soon be looking, feeling, and using your gorgeous new grin with confidence!
About Dr. Shah
Dr. Vrajesh Shah began his dental education in India at the Government Dental College and Hospital in Jamnagar. Following graduation, he treated patients for nearly a decade before immigrating to the United States and earning a second dental degree at the highly regarded New York University College of Dentistry. Since then, he has taken extensive courses in a variety of topics like sinus lifts and bone grafting, and today is a proud, active member of The American Dental Association, The New Jersey Dental Association, The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, and The American Academy of Implant Dentistry. To schedule an appointment for dentures at Edison Prosthodontics, visit our website or call 732-943-1709.