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Congratulations on your new dentures! This oral appliance is one of the most popular oral prosthetics people turn to when they start to lose their teeth. Dentures have a solid history of restoring a smile when replacing lost teeth to eat and speak normally again. When you first wear your new dentures, it can take you a while to get used to having them in your mouth. As you adjust to wearing dentures, there are a couple of things you can do to make this time more comfortable.

While your mouth is adjusting to your new dental appliance, you may feel some initial soreness during the first couple of weeks or so as your oral muscles figure out how to hold your new dentures in place. While they do, the dentures might slip around a bit. Your salivary glands will also be working overtime as they sense this new “thing” in your mouth. This will stop soon enough as your mouth adjusts.

Chewing

If you love to eat, it may take a minute for your mouth to get used to chewing with new dentures. As you get the hang of it, sticking to soft foods in the early period will help. This is a good time to enjoy all your soft-food favorites, whether it’s eggs, mashed potatoes, soups, smoothies, bananas, applesauce or yogurt. You can also chop your food into smaller, manageable bites while your gums and muscles acclimate to your new teeth. Eventually, you can start eating cooked vegetables, pasta and tender meats. While chewing be sure to use both sides of your mouth. This will help to keep your new denture securely in place.

Speaking

In the beginning, your speech may be affected as you learn how to talk in your dentures. You can always practice reading aloud to help you get the hang of proper pronunciation again. Your mouth muscles will be working overtime, including your lips, tongue and cheeks so you can speak clearly. In the meantime, simply talk a little more slowly.

If you notice your new dentures are slipping when you use your mouth to talk, chew or cough, all you need to do is bite down gently and swallow so that your dentures are in their proper place. We hope you enjoy your new dentures and restored smile while you learn how to smile, eat and speak with confidence again!