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Learning to eat with new dentures
requires time and patience.
Before placing food in the mouth bring
the teeth together and swallow. This will seat the
denture in the mouth. Then place small bites of food
in the mouth and chew it slowly on the side that seems
most natural and comfortable. Try to move the jaw in a
straight up and down motion. Shifting the lower jaw to
get a shearing motion will unseat the dentures.
Avoid foods that are hard, tough,
sticky, or require considerable chewing. Vegetables
should be cooked. Doughy foods, such as breads will
stick to dentures and should be eaten with liquids.
When trying to eat a sandwich, cookies
or any other food that is generally bitten down on with
the front teeth and then torn off, the denture can
dislodge. Cut the food into smaller sizes, hold it
against the upper front teeth or the lower front,
whichever is more comfortable, slowly bring the teeth
together through the food and then tear the remaining
section. If sandwiches continue to be a problem, cut
them into bite sized pieces.
Food can loose some flavor with
dentures. However, there should be no problem tasting
your food.
Food will collect under your
dentures. Food that normally drifts onto the floor
of the mouth or into the cheeks will find its way under
the lower denture. Upward and backward movements of the
tongue (as in swallowing) will force food under the
upper denture. Food will also adhere to plastic surfaces
much easier than to the mouth tissues. People wearing
dentures are far more conscious of food collecting
in their mouths than those with natural teeth are. This
is because the denture flanges (sides) occupy
space where normally food would collect. The only
practical solution to this problem is to change your
eating habits. Try eating smaller amounts more slowly
and clear your mouth as well as possible before taking
more food.
Liquid can sometimes present a problem
especially for lower dentures. If you are in the
habit of holding a liquid in your mouth long enough to
taste it, the denture will invariably loosen. It is
usually the lower denture that causes the most trouble.
In order to overcome this, you must break the habit
of momentarily holding the liquid and keep the function
of swallowing continually. This means that as soon as
the liquid fills your mouth, you should swallow. |
