Dentures and You – Practical Tips for Eating and Speaking

Losing your teeth prematurely can lower your self-confidence, and make eating and talking a challenge. For many people, the best way to deal with missing teeth is to replace them with affordable quality dentures. These natural-looking dental prosthetics don’t just give you back your smile; they restore your ability to eat and speak without embarrassment. Unfortunately, the magic may not happen overnight. It takes a little time and patience to adjust to chewing and talking with an unfamiliar object inside your mouth. The tips listed below can help.

The Challenge of Eating with Dentures

When you’re just starting out, choose foods that are easier to handle such as eggs, cheese, chopped meat, fish, cooked fruits and vegetables, puddings, yogurt and ice cream. Take small bites and chew your food slowly. When possible, avoid biting down with your front teeth. Stay away from chewy foods like caramel, and don’t bite into hard candy or ice. Eating will feel different at first, but the process should become more comfortable in a few weeks. You can safely start adding more challenging foods after about 90 days.

Practical Tips for Talking

Learning to pronounce everyday words with a foreign object in your mouth can be quite a challenge. It’s not unusual to have some minor speaking difficulties when you first start out. Many people have problems with words that start with the letters S and F. To make it easier, practice speaking out loud when you’re alone. Try reading a newspaper article in front of a mirror. Another helpful trick is biting down and swallowing right before you start talking; this practice sets your dentures in place. In time, both talking and eating will seem perfectly natural to you.

To learn about our family dentistry practice in Miami, call Miami Center for Cosmetic and Implant Dentistry today at (305) 306-9250 or make an appointment.