Once you are fully adjusted to wearing dentures, you should be able to eat almost anything. However, there may be some foods that will always be difficult to eat, such as food that is hard, sticky, or tough. Even with a strong mouth and well-fitting dentures, there are some foods you may wish to banish from your diet.
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 torn off, the denture can dislodge.
If you need to bite down on hard food, such as an apple, use your canines instead of your front teeth. Otherwise, you can cause your dentures to slip and slide around, hurting your gums. Make sure you distribute your food evenly on both sides in the back of your mouth when you chew.
Salty Snacks
If you find yourself craving something salty, remember that hard, sharp, or jagged pieces don't play nicely with dentures and can be uncomfortable if lodged in your mouth. Rather than reaching for chips or popcorn, lighter foods like crackers or vegetable sticks with dip are a better alternative.
Immediately trying to chew could be very uncomfortable and potentially harm your sensitive gums, so give them a few days to get used to the dentures before progressing to solid food.
The bite force that dentures provide is much weaker than natural teeth and dental implants. This is because dentures rest over the gums, rather than teeth and implants whose roots are anchored to the jaw bone. Also, with traditional dentures, chewing capacity is decreased by 50%.
Generally you should wear your dentures for at least 8 hours a day. This will give your gums and jawbone time to get used to the dentures and prevent sore spots from developing. It is best to take them out at night so that your gums can rest. You should also remove them for eating, drinking, brushing and flossing.
Although dentures improve chewing function, the bite force is much weaker than that of natural teeth, meaning users often avoid certain foods.
Chewing or Speaking Difficulty
It takes practice to eat and converse with dentures. Dentures are less stable and prone to fall out of position since there isn't much gum or bone underneath to resist movement. In fact, chewing meals with new dentures can take up to 5 times longer.
Use a denture cleanser. (Conventional toothpaste, bleach, vinegar and soap are not designed for denture cleaning and could, in some cases, cause damage. Scratched dentures will harbor unsightly plaque bacteria, causing denture odor. Harsh products like bleach may even turn the pink parts of your dentures white.)
All Polident variants are safe for the overnight soaking of dentures.
Avoid certain foods in the beginning – When you're first learning to chew with your dentures, you should avoid eating foods that you have to bite into like pizzas and burgers. These types of foods can easily dislodge your dentures. Sticky foods might also be problematic for new denture wearers.
The “labial” part of the name bilabial refers to your lips. If your dentures don't fit correctly, it can be difficult to bring your lips together to properly create these sounds. Additionally, if your dentures are loose, saying these sounds can dislodge them, which can result in a clicking sound.
A denture reline will help a denture work without adhesive so long as it matches the gums. How long a reline works depends on how fast or slow your bone changes. Whatever period of time passed between getting your denture and having it start needing adhesive is probably how long a denture reline will work as well.
Brush your dentures at least daily.
Remove and gently clean your dentures daily. Soak and brush them with a soft-bristled brush and nonabrasive denture cleanser to remove food, plaque and other deposits. If you use denture adhesive, clean the grooves that fit against your gums to remove any remaining adhesive.
Any time dentures are going to be out of your mouth for an extended period of time, they should be kept in water or a denture solution. If they are allowed to dry out, they may become brittle and warped. Ideally, dentures should only be soaked overnight and put back in your mouth the following morning.
It's normal to develop sore spots during the first few days of wearing dentures. You may also have more saliva. Gum tissue contracts as it heals. For this reason, you may need to visit our office several times so your dentures fit comfortably.
If your dentures aren't made properly, the teeth might be too short or too long for your mouth. This can cause challenges for your tongue as it positions itself to make the sounds required to communicate. This may also cause soreness in your jaw after eating or can bring general discomfort to your mouth.
When wearing new dentures, you might feel that your dentures are too big or that your lips are being pushed forward, making it difficult to smile naturally. This “full-mouth” feeling is common when you first get new dentures and will subside once you become accustomed to wearing them.
Tips for First Time Denture Wearers
You may feel a little uncomfortable chowing down on food, so go for soups, smoothies, puddings, applesauce and other liquefied food in those first few days. Take care with hot dishes. Hot liquid can burn your mouth.
What to Do If You Hate Your Dentures. First things first, call your dentist. They should be able to get you in for an appointment right away. After the dentist examines your mouth, they can determine which option is best for you.
As we noted above, pulling on dentures is likely to dislodge them. Another issue is that bread and some sandwich ingredients stick to dentures, making it hard to chew. So, if you want to eat a sandwich with dentures, you should avoid: Hard, crusty bread.