Dentures are a great option for people who have experienced tooth loss. They help you regain the functionality you lost after no longer having your teeth, while also improving your appearance. However, it may take some time to get used to them. Having this dental apparatus in your mouth certainly doesn’t feel the same as having your natural teeth but with some patience and guidance from your dentist in Red Deer, the process of obtaining dentures will be rather easy.
What are dentures?
Dentures are prosthetic dental appliances that serve to replace one, several, or all of your teeth. Normally, they have an acrylic base that holds fake teeth made out of porcelain or plastic. The base of the dentures resembles your gums, which makes them look incredibly natural. Dentures can be partial or complete. Complete dentures replace your entire smile and are used for patients who have lost all of their teeth, or for those who still have a couple of natural teeth that are not in good shape and need to be extracted. On the other hand, partial dentures fill the gaps in the smiles of patients who have lost only a couple of teeth. These types of dentures use the patient’s natural teeth for support.
Getting used to dentures
Acclimating to dentures in Red Deer may feel a little odd at first. After all, they are a foreign object that you are putting in your mouth, and your brain recognizes it as such. However, as time goes by, you will become more accustomed to having the dentures in your mouth and after a while, it will feel strange when you aren’t wearing them. In some cases, patients experience some soreness in the first couple of days after receiving the dentures, but this tends to fade. If it doesn’t, you should check in with a dentist near you, since you may need to have your dentures adjusted.
You will enjoy food again
One of the worst parts of tooth loss is how much it can affect a person’s diet. Missing teeth can make it very difficult to chew foods, and as a result, patients settle for soft foods that are easier to eat. After receiving dentures near you, you will gain a lot of functionality and this will allow you to eat many foods you couldn’t enjoy before.
However, this won’t happen immediately. First of all, immediately after acquiring dentures, it is recommended to limit your diet to soft foods such as applesauce, mashed potatoes, oatmeal, and gelatin. This way you will learn how to chew food with the dentures. Also, since sometimes people are required to undergo tooth extractions before obtaining dentures, this diet will help avoid pain.
After a couple of days, you can start your transition to solid foods. At first, you should incorporate foods such as soft bread, pasta, cooked rice, and slow-cooked meat. Make sure you chew with both sides of your mouth since putting pressure on only one side of the denture can cause wear.
There are some foods you should avoid if you have dentures, with the main one being sticky foods. These include peanut butter and gummies. Since these can stick to your teeth, they can cause your dentures to shift out of place. Dentists also recommend staying clear of any foods such as popcorn, seeded bread, or crackers as these foods dissolve into tiny pieces that can be hard to remove and could become lodged between your dentures and your gums, causing some pain. Finally, any hard foods should be avoided since they place more pressure on one side of the dentures, and can also dislodge them. Examples of hard foods are raw fruits, vegetables, and steak.