If you've just been fitted for your first partial or full set of dentures, you might be happy to know that the gaps in your teeth will be taken care of. You might already be planning to chomp down on some foods you couldn't eat before. However, before your dentures are delivered to you, it's important to correct any misconceptions about dentures so that you can adjust well and care for the oral appliances properly. Here are some misconceptions you might have.
You Can Eat Everything Right Away
In your excitement to start chewing on hard candy and crunchy foods, you may not know that it's advisable that you start with jello, soft-boiled eggs, and other simple foods. Your gums need time to get used to the dentures inside your mouth, and may feel sore and painful for a while when you start wearing them. In fact, you might even want to take your dentures out often because of gum soreness. To help your gums, begin with softer foods and tackle soreness with oral pain relieving gels and salt water rinses.
Your Speech Will Be Perfect
It might not even occur to you that speech would be affected by dentures, but making certain sounds might prove to be difficult or sound strange at first. You may need a bit of time to learn to speak with the dentures inside your mouth. When the dentures are put in, slowly practice saying different words and sounds. You might also consider some oral adhesive cream to ensure that the dentures don't slide around and make pronouncing sounds even harder.
You Don't Have to Brush Them
Because they are not real teeth, you might think that you can just rinse the dentures off and put them away without giving them any more attention. However, it's important that you recognize that dentures can be infiltrated by bacteria and tartar that can affect how the dentures look. They need to be cleaned and brushed each day.
Another thing you have to know is that brushing is going to be a little different. For example, you cannot use the tube of toothpaste that the rest of your family uses for their natural teeth. That kind of toothpaste is typically loaded with a number of abrasive materials to help scrub teeth clean; that can be damaging for artificial teeth such as dentures. Have your denturist recommend the proper toothpaste to use.
When you've got the right information, you can adjust to dentures much more quickly. Ask your denturist if there are other things that can help you to get used to these oral appliances sooner.
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