What’ll Happen During Your First Month with Dentures?

As great as they are, you’ll need time to get used to dentures. In fact, most patients need a month or so for the adjustment process. This 30-day period lets you become familiar with how dentures feel. Once you have, you can rely on the new teeth for smiling, eating, speaking, and more. As for what the first month with dentures involves, your San Marcos dentist has the scoop. To that end, here’s what to expect from these prosthetics during the first thirty days.

Changes During Your First Month of Dentures

When you first start wearing dentures, you’ll experience some changes over thirty days. As divided by timing, they are the following:

The First 24 Hours

Expect your gums to feel sore for your first twenty-four hours with dentures. They’ll need a bit longer before the restorations seem natural to them. Quite frankly, you’ll need to wear the dentures to bed – they act as a bandage for your gum tissue on the first day.

Given these facts, only eat soft foods during this period. Items like yogurt, soup, mashed potatoes, or macaroni and cheese won’t upset the extraction site(s).

The First Two Weeks

Once the initial twenty-four hours pass, you’ll visit the dentist several times over a few weeks. The first of these appointments let them remove the dentures without harming your gums. Later visits, meanwhile, ensure the prosthetics fit comfortably.

During these two weeks, you may experience dental discomfort or pain. Patients can also develop sore spots from the new teeth. To compensate, try supplementing meals with a protein-rich drink.

After The First Two Weeks

Following the first two weeks, you’ll have better adjusted to the dentures. The odds are you won’t have as many sore spots. Furthermore, you may be more skilled in chewing food, speaking, etc.

Admittedly, you may (still) lisp when speaking with the dentures. Even so, you shouldn’t worry – this effect will fade with practice and time.

How to Make Denture Adjustment Easier

You can adjust quickly to your new dentures with the right habits. Consider the practices listed below:

• Take Small Bites – After you’ve moved past the soft-food phase of adjustment, cut tougher items into small, bite-sized pieces. Doing so makes them easy to chew with your back teeth. Plus, the habit lets you get accustomed to the new chewing motions.
• Avoid Certain Foods Entirely – The hard and sticky foods that are bad for braces are also taboo for dentures. You might damage or dislodge your new teeth if you try biting into them.
• Practice Makes Perfect – To speak well with dentures, read aloud and keep a running list of difficult words. This practice will make speaking easier over time.

True, your first month with dentures may be a challenge. Given the benefits, though, the journey is well worth it!

About the Practice

Rio Vista Dental is based in San Marcos, TX. Led by Dr. David Earnest, our practice tries to give each patient the best in restorative dentistry. To that end, we offer dentures, implants, implant dentures, and more. Our team can also perform bone grafting in-house for those with weak jaws. For more information or to book a visit, you can reach us on our website or by phone at (512)-392-1214.