subject: New Dentures - Getting Used To Wearing Them [print this page] Your Dental Technician will have shown a great deal of skill in making your new partial or complete dentures and it's essential that you start taking care of your dentures effectively in order to get the best from them. Nothing can be found to equal healthy natural teeth but dentistry has made great progress in replacing missing teeth with natural looking dentures.
Wearing Your New Dentures - The teeth on your new dentures have been designed to be as near as possible to the exact position that your missing natural teeth occupied. Your new dentures will support your cheeks and lips and give you as natural appearance as possible. You can however expect to undergo a period of awkwardness while getting used to wearing dentures. Very often your first reaction may be that you have suddenly acquired a tremendous mouthful and your lips are being pushed forward excessively by teeth that seem too big.
Your new dentures will have been designed to be as near as possible to the position that your missing natural teeth occupied. Understandably you should expect to undergo a period of awkwardness while getting used to wearing any new dentures.
Controlling Your Dentures - You may get a feeling of gagging or excessive salivation with your new dentures but this should disappear after a short period of time. While you are learning to use your new dentures it is necessary to have patience. Controlling your dentures may be difficult at first but gradually it will become automatic.
Getting Accustomed to New Dentures - The time required to become accustomed to your new or immediate dentures may vary considerably from individual to individual; some people will master their dentures very quickly others may require weeks of patience. It will usually take between 4 - 8 weeks to become fully accustomed to your new dentures. Some of your friends may tell you how it easy it was for them to get accustomed; they could be bragging or they may have forgotten.
Speech and Your New Dentures - Speaking properly while wearing your new dentures may seem strange or difficult at first. Your tongue has to "learn" where your new teeth are. It's often a good idea to read aloud to yourself for short periods during the first few days. Try to take sips of water in between speaking for the first few days, as your mouth may very well feel dry.
There's no need to feel embarrassed about speaking while wearing your new dentures - other people are much less aware of the awkwardness than you are. This is because your voice never sounds the same to other people as it does to you. When you hear yourself speak most of the sound reaches your ears by means of vibrations in the bones of the jaw and skull, this varies from the sound that travels through the air. So any small changes become much more noticeable to the speaker than anyone else.
