Dentures

If you have lost most or all of your teeth, then come to Bull City Smiles for our full and partial denture restorations. When our dentist gives you these tooth replacements, then you can eat and speak easily once again.

Please remember that it takes some time for your mouth to get used to dentures when you first receive them. Though complete dentures will not feel like your natural teeth did, they should feel comfortable and function efficiently with time, usually after about two weeks of wearing them.

Eating

Eating will take some practice because you will not chew in the same way you did with your teeth. While natural teeth move up and down to chew, dentures use a side to side motion. Cutting your food into smaller pieces can help chewing become easier. The foods one feels comfortable chewing with dentures varies from person to person. We suggest starting with soft foods and working up to the harder ones. With time and practice, you will improve your ability to chew with dentures.

Speaking

When you first speak while wearing dentures, you may feel like you are trying to talk with a mouth full of marbles. But once again, patience is necessary to help you overcome difficulties speaking with dentures. Each patient will adapt at a different rate, and with practice, you will soon speak well with your dentures and have trouble speaking without them.

Denture Fit

Your dentures will eventually settle in your mouth, providing a fit that is both comfortable to wear and efficient for chewing and speaking. If you develop sores, then we will adjust the dentures so they no longer rub the area. You will find that your upper set of dentures fit snugly in place as they suction in your mouth. However, the lower dentures do not have the same suction because of the lower jaw’s structure. They tend to float and slide, but your tongue and cheek muscles will learn how to stabilize them over time as you eat and speak. If you wish, you can use denture adhesives to steady the dentures as you get used to them. Additionally, sucking on hard candy can shorten the adjustment period by making the gums seat faster.

Caring For Dentures

You should clean your dentures after meals (or before bedtime) by brushing them with a denture toothpaste. This will remove food, plaque, and stains from the dentures. We recommend cleaning your dentures over a sink filled with water to prevent damage to the dentures if you accidently drop them.

In order to give your gums a chance to rest, you should take your dentures out every night when you go to sleep. Doing so will also prevent infection from developing in your gum tissues. Place the denture in a cup of water overnight, because letting your dentures dry out can change their shape.

We recommend that you occasionally soak your dentures in a soaking solution like Efferdent in order to disinfect them and remove stains and deposits. You will also want to soak your dentures in diluted bleach once a month to reduce fungal growth. Remember to rinse them with water after using these soaking solutions. Do not clean or soak your dentures in hot water because it can warp their shape.

You also need to clean your mouth without the dentures every day. Rinse with a mouthwash once a day to clean away the bacteria and fungus that contribute to denture sores, bad breath, and infection.

Follow-Up Care

If you have lost all of your teeth, then your jaw bone will start to shrink 1/32 of an inch each year. Because of the continuing changes to the size of your jaw, we recommend that you visit us once a year to have your dentures and oral tissues evaluated so we can determine if your dentures need relining. If you wear ill-fitting dentures for too long, then you may experience severe bone loss and oral disease. Please visit our office as soon as possible if you develop oral sores, changes to the fit of your dentures, or other problems.