Eating with New Dentures – Total Denture Care
For patient’s with new dentures, difficulties may be encountered within the first 6 to 8 weeks. One of these difficulties is learning to chew satisfactorily. While each person will adapt differently to the next, one must be aware that their physical, mental and oral conditions are individual in nature and may create limitations. So you don’t get discouraged, you need to be aware that this transitional period is to be expected. The facial muscles and the muscles of mastication will often need to learn new memory patterns. Once this pattern becomes automatic, the chewing process will take place without any conscious effort. During this learning period the muscles of the tongue, cheeks and lips must learn what they should do by repetitive training to maintain the dentures in the correct position. Other conditions that can impair comfort and mastication may be due to the absence of saliva. This issue should return to normal in a short time and the salivary glands will accommodate the presence of the dentures. During this early period, you should begin chewing soft foods such as crackers, pasta, soft toast or meats that have been cut into small pieces. Placing the food between the teeth towards the corners of the mouth rather than between the anterior teeth, will make chewing easier and reduce the tendency of the dentures to tip. In general a large percentage of people have minimal difficulty adjusting to new dentures; however, in some cases there may be issues which can be overcome by cost effective techniques such as adhesives or balanced occlusion dentures. Whatever your individual situation or conditions are, we will endeavour to provide the best dentures and ongoing service for your comfort and wellbeing.