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Yes I know it’s difficult to adapt to a new set of dentures. And believe me, it’s challenging eating with dentures for the first time?

Even a small food particle in your teeth gives a terrible feeling until its out, and here it’s a whole big denture.

You must have some doubts such as

When will I get adjusted with my dentures?

What does it feel like to wear dentures?

Is it challenging eating with dentures for the first time?

What can I do to be comfortable with dentures?

How long does it take to eat with new dentures?

Should I wear dentures all the time?

You are thrilled after getting your new dentures. Also excited about eating with dentures for the first time.

Being a geriatric dental expert I have come across people hesitating wearing dentures for the first time.

Don’t bother eating with dentures for the first time.

It may take some time initially, but then you will get settled in 20–30 days.

Extooth has got you a complete denture education program with detailed post denture instructions.

Post denture instructions

A complete denture education program for denture wearers especially for eating with dentures for the first time

Post denture instructions include –

• The nature of complete dentures
• The 1^st oral feelings
• The problem of excess saliva
• Speech difficulties
• Eating suggestions
• Proper tongue positions
• The importance of tissue health
• The proper cleaning of complete dentures
• The danger of do-it-yourself corrections

The nature of dentures

Your lost Natural teeth had roots that were housed in the bone making you chew on tough food items.

Each and every tooth is an individual entity. It is capable to withstand vertical and tangential forces during chewing and swallowing.

Nature has provided teeth with natural suspension which is known as Periodontal Ligament. These allow the tooth or teeth to withstand heavy chewing force. This is an evolutionary marvel that allowed the hunting homo sapien to chew hard meat and bones. 

On the other hand, dentures can cope with the limited amount of forces as they rest on wet, slippery mucosa housing the bone.

With this limited facility, the Prosthodontist has to deliver maximum retention and optimum function by the dentures.

 Patients with teeth have an acute proprioceptive system; they are able to detect minute variations in movement as well as differences in size, location, and texture.

A great deal of success rests with the patient’s ability to understand the basic problems associated with complete dentures and practice to overcome or compensate for them.

Whatever the nature of the denture, its actual function starts after it is fabricated and placed in the oral cavity of the Patient.

As far as the patient is concerned they have to start to learn to adapt to the denture with all normal functions that are there to perform during a normal day.

First oral feelings

You are entitled to a mirror to look into, as soon as you get your dentures.

This is of two types. First is the external appearance. The person will immediately appreciate the restored facial profile, visible teeth, and smile line,  the deep skin folds being reduced or removed. The lips will regain their old position and in most instances, the face will appear according to the age of the patient. The vermillion border of the lips is exposed and this eliminates the toothless look.    

Within the mouth, you are definitely going to get the feeling of fullness while wearing it for the first time.

There are two reasons for this; first, the dentist wants to take advantage of as much tissue area as possible to aid in stabilization, retention and the distribution of chewing forces, thus the new denture may be slightly bigger than the old ones. secondly, any small changes in denture contour tend to be perceived by the mouth as bulk or excess.

Therefore some amount of new feeling comes when a new denture is made or the design is altered.  

But you don’t have to worry about it. This feeling will go on its own in a couple of days.

Excess saliva

New dentures are often interpreted as foreign objects by your oral system.

This leads to a stimulation of salivary glands to produce saliva.

If the flow is excessive, you may feel like dentures are floating and a general excess of watery saliva.

You don’t have to worry about it, as this happens initially. This overactive flow of saliva is a normal body mechanism and it will be reduced over the next few weeks.

You should avoid spitting or compulsive rinsing during this time since it will lead to the unsettling of your dentures.

The individual should be trained to swallow the saliva with the denture in its place.

Gradually the saliva flow is reduced to the optimum level of the daily requirement. 

Speech

In the beginning, you may find communication difficulties. This is due to the feeling of bulkiness and excess salivation.

The tongue may encroach into the areas where tooth loss takes place.

Since the tongue has no bones it tends to be flaccid. As a role reversal artificial teeth and denture encroach on to the space of the tongue. The result is unclear speech.   

 Speaking may become uncoordinated during rapid sensation. This will overcome with routine speaking practice.

You should read a book while at home.

The volume of your voice should be audible to yourself and some close friends or family members. 

Speech with reading practice is self-correcting and quickly assumes a natural tone and fluency.

Eating

Are you eating with dentures for the first time?

Are you querying eating with dentures for the first time?

It is important for you to know that chewing is not random, but an intentional and selective activity.

Compared to when natural teeth are present denture poses new challenges in chewing.

The most important aspect is to maintain the position of the denture and the bolus of food during chewing.

Your eating skills must be slowly developed and refined.

You should begin chewing relatively soft food that has been cut into small pieces.

If the chewing can be done on both sides of the mouth at the same time, the tendency of the dentures to tip will be reduced.

During this early period, you are advised to eat simple types of food such as crackers, soft toast, or chopped meat and eating hard food items is strictly prohibited.

First-time denture wearers are advised to eat food that requires little chewing

It is comfortable eating with dentures for the first time but you need to have soft diet in the initially.

Tip for chewing is swallowing with a simple push of the tongue against the palate. This will stabilize the denture.

While biting with dentures, place the food between the teeth toward the corners of the mouth, rather than between the anterior teeth.

Then the food should be pushed inward and upward to break it apart rather than downward and outward as would be done if natural teeth were present.

Inward and upward forces tend to seat the dentures on the residual ridges rather than displace them.

Learning to chew satisfactorily with new dentures usually requires at least 6 to 8 weeks.

Once the habit patterns become automatic, the chewing process can take place without conscious effort.

Tongue position

The most common problem you come across is the loosening of a lower denture. The position of the tongue is very important for the stability of your denture.

Positioning of the tongue farther forward to rest on the lower front teeth dislodge the lower denture.

The dentures are designed to accommodate the tongue. Special emphasis is given to the lower denture during its fabrication.

The design is such that the tongue will rest on the descending surface of the denture towards itself. This prevents the denture to be dislodged by the tongue.

However in due course of practicing Speech, chewing, swallowing the tongue settles in the space where it helps in retaining the dentures.

You must practice opening and closing while the tongue assumes a normal position.

It is important, for the dentist, as well as for the patient to realize that a tongue position creates a problem and no denture adjustment or relining procedure will correct it.

Maintaining tissue health

There are 3 factors involved in the preservation of healthy edentulous oral tissues:

A. Adequate tissue rest

B. Proper denture hygiene and

C. The cleansing of oral tissues

Adequate tissue rest

Removing the upper and lower dentures before sleeping serves 2 purposes:

– It provides a comfortable time for soaking the dentures in a cleaning solution.

–  It allows oral tissues to rest.

Sufficient rest supports the oral tissues to influence the daily stresses upon them by denture wearing.

Failure to allow the tissue to recover from these forces may result in increased sores and irritation.

Additionally, many people clench and brux during sleep. These can be forceful movements that can critically damage the underlying infrastructure.

 Elimination of one or both of the dentures will reduce this possible hazard.

Complete denture hygiene

DENTURE CLEANSERS

You can use a wide variety of agents for cleaning artificial dentures. In approximate order of preference, these include:

1. Dentifrices

2. Proprietary denture cleansers

3. Mild detergents

4. Household cleansers

5. Bleaches and vinegar.

Both immersion and brushing routines are practiced with these materials.

The basic commercial denture cleansers use immersion ways.

 These cleansers are sold in powder and tablet applications.

Immersion agent contain

(1) Alkaline compounds

(2) Detergent

(3) Sodium perborate and

(4) Flavoring agents

When suspended in water, sodium perborate crumbles to form an alkaline peroxide solution. This peroxide solution afterward releases oxygen, which is advised to release debris via mechanical means.

Household bleaches can also be used as denture cleansers these are inexpensive, safe and as effective as commercial cleaners. The formula is:

1 tablespoon (15 cc) sodium hypochlorite (household bleach)

1 teaspoon (4cc) Calgon

4 ounces (114cc) water

This cleaning solution should only be used for acrylic dentures with porcelain teeth.

It is not recommended for any prosthesis, containing cr-co (a) other metals as the sodium hypochlorite may pit, (or) corrode the metal.

The sodium hypochlorite produces a bleaching effect that, when used in the above concentration, does not alter the color stability of the resin, denture base or teeth. The weak sodium hypochlorite solution is also an effective germicidal agent Calgon: a water softener provides a detergent action that effectively softens and loosens food debris.

You should thoroughly brush your dentures with a soft brush under running water after chemical soaking. This ensures that the entire chemical cleaner is removed from the denture prior to insertion.

To effectively remove calculus overnight soaking with 4 ounces (114 cc) white vinegar is recommended. The solution of vinegar gives a safe concentration of acetic acid, which decalcifies calculus coats.

Mechanical cleaning

The use of a brush soap or denture cleaning paste and water is a very popular method of cleaning complete dentures.

If you are interested in knowing cleaning dentures at home, read our blog on HOW TO CLEAN DENTURES AT HOME

 Soft brushing with a delicate denture brush and a nonabrasive detergent is a useful cleaning method, especially when combined with overnight soaking.

Sonic cleaners

They are relatively new denture accessory. They use vibratory energy (not ultrasonic force) to clean dentures.

Tissue hygiene and massage

Gentle brushing a nibbling of your ridges with a washed cloth removes plaque and food debris which can cause or exacerbate areas of local irritation.

The best regimen should cover denture brushing, tissue massage, and cleansing.

 The loss of taste perception often associated with older age groups and denture wearers can be markedly improved by thorough oral hygiene including tongue cleaning.

When your mouth is dry and the denture is tightly compressed against your tissues, this can lead to denture stomatitis, which is an inflammatory process caused by bacteria or yeast-like Candida. It turns the tissue under the denture red, there is swelling, sometimes pinpoint petechial hemorrhage (pinpoint bleeding), and sometimes pain or a burning sensation but most often not.

If you have a compromised immune system and/or diabetes, the Candida can proliferate and cause a larger yeast infection. The tissues become covered in white globs which is the overgrowth of the yeast.Difficult to cure because the denture has to be handled as well or it will re-infect your tissues.

The potential danger of do-it-yourself corrections

There is a diversity of pathologic alterations usually seen under the home-relined denture.

The most common tissue change is inflammation.

Acute reactions range from erythema to ulceration.

If it persists over a long period of time, this chronic inflammation precedes to severe bone resorption.

 Palatal petechiae and papillary hyperplasia are common in the palate of such patients.

The open palatal region that is present in various relining pads may add to papillomatosis.

If there are rough edges and overextension on the denture periphery after home refitting, epulis may develop.

The porous nature and large voids promote staining and increased colonization of microorganisms, notably Candida albicans (fungus).

Also, the pathologic pressure regions that home relining creates, the do – it yourself refitting may also produce a dangerous error in the position of the denture.

 Not only the reline materials and adherent add thickness to the denture base, but it also raises vertical height, but they also can disturb the proper horizontal relationship of the denture as well.

The immediate effect of the loss of these two important relationships is a malocclusion.

The perpetuation of the situation leads to tissue soreness, inflammation and accelerated bone loss.

Any of these repairs acts as a distinct danger if tried by a new patient. Most of these types of repairs are hideous and can end in a malpositioned tooth and anterior prematurities.

The home repaired posterior tooth can result in premature contact and bilateral disharmony.

The most critical repair is the broken denture collar or fractured denture plate. This type of home repair can result in a misalignment of the fragment’s unequal pressure on the denture foundation and a malocclusion.

The problem with the home adjustment is that patients invariably have difficulty in locating the offending area and have no Judgment in knowing how much to relieve the denture base.

You must keep in mind before attempting these stunts that inoperable damage can be done if these adjustments are attempted outside the dental office. 

Visit your dentist for follow-ups.

Leave a comment below to tell me did you feel difficulty eating with dentures for the first time?