When you first get dentures, it’s natural to feel excited after they’re finally placed. You have your smile back, so you’re eager to go out and use your new pearly whites! However, you’ll still need to be careful about your meals. After all, your new prosthetics don’t act exactly like natural teeth — your muscles will have to adapt and adjust to them. That said, here are five tips to help make eating with dentures easier going forward.
Begin with a Mechanical Soft Diet (for now)
Until you’re more familiar with your replacement teeth’s new sensations, you should eat a “mechanical soft” diet. As the name implies, this is a meal plan where food is mechanically altered by blending, chopping, grinding, or mashing. Hence, it helps you to chew and swallow.
You won’t lose out health-wise with this diet. Pureed foods like applesauce, pudding, cooked cereal, scrambled eggs, and mashed potatoes provide nutrition without compromising gums or stressing jaw muscles.
Check Your Foods’ Temperature Beforehand
You’ll also want to be careful with hot foods when starting with dentures. Because you can’t judge temperatures as well due to the prosthetics’ insulating effect, you could burn your mouth.
Thankfully, there’s a workaround. You can test hot foods on your lips before putting them in your mouth.
Eat Carefully
Once you’ve worked up to foods you can bite down on, use your canines instead of your front teeth. Otherwise, your dentures could move around and make your gums sore.
When doing so, remember to distribute the food evenly on both sides of your mouth — doing so will help keep the dentures in place.
Keep Practicing
As the saying goes, “Practice makes perfect.” Whether it takes days or weeks, you’ll eventually get comfortable eating with dentures. All it takes is continual practice as you get more familiar with the sensations and movements involved.
Avoid Sticky, Chewy, and Spicy Foods
Even as you become more confident in chewing and eating, you should still avoid sticky, chewy, and spicy foods. They can easily damage your dentures or irritate your mouth, causing significant discomfort.
For instance, chewing gum, nuts, seeds, popcorn, and corn on the cob would not be a good choice, whether now or in the future.
Dentures may instantly return your smile, but using them for eating takes more effort. Still, by following the tips above, you’ll get there in no time.
About the Practice
Crossroads Family Dentistry is based in Forest, VA. As led by Drs. Steven Hatch, James Peery, Samuel Woolwine, and Carole Roberts, the practice’s team has 40+ years of combined experience in dentistry. Their services include preventive, cosmetic, and restorative dental treatments, including emergency procedures. Whatever you choose, rest assured that your smile will see high-quality results. For more information or to book an appointment, reach the staff at their website or by phone at (434)-841-1704.