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Eating With Dentures
- Learning to eat with new dentures requires time and
patience. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Food can loose some flavor
with dentures. However, there should be no problem
tasting your food. |
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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. |
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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. |
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Saliva -
Some patients complain of
saliva collecting under the upper denture. The
upper denture does cover the salivary glands on
the cheek side of the denture. The majority of people
are able to express the saliva from under their denture
by bracing the lower jaw against the upper jaw and
swallowing. However, if the saliva gets trapped in the
front part of the denture, you will have to remove it
and rinse it with water. |
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Gagging -
When patients gag with
their dentures in their mouths, they usually insist
it be because the upper denture extends too far back in
the mouth. This may or may not be the cause. If you
insist the dentist trim the back of the denture too
much, you upper denture will become loose. Sometimes the
presence of a hard candy in the mouth relieves the
tendency to gag. Some people experience momentary
gagging every time they place the dentures in their
mouths. This condition may continue indefinitely or in
most cases, the patient psychologically over comes the
sensation. |
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Soreness -
Soreness goes hand in hand
with a new denture. All new dentures "settle,"
and all tissues do not accept pressure in the same
manner. Whenever soreness exists, allow the dentist to
see you and make appropriate adjustments. It is likely
that it will take a few adjustments before all sore
spots are gone. Before seeing the dentist for
adjustments, wear the denture for at least one hour
so he can see the irritated area exactly and only adjust
that area on the denture. |
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Cheek Biting -
Biting the cheek with
new dentures is common. It in no way implies that the
teeth are too wide or positioned incorrectly. It can be
the result of flabby cheek muscles, which the
denture will help overcome in a few days. If the
condition becomes troublesome, the dentist will round
off the outside edges of the teeth so no damage is done
to the cheek tissue. For some people it may be
necessary to do these two or three times. |