Your Dentist recommends that dentures be made for you. Before starting this treatment, please read this summary and make sure you are ready to wear dentures.
This information will help you decide if you want dentures or not. Please ask your dentist any questions you have before we start making your dentures.
Your dentist thinks that dentures will help you, but getting dentures can be hard and cause problems you should know about. The most important thing to know about dentures is that is takes a long time for you to get used to wearing them. No matter how well dentures are made to fit in your mouth, dentures will never feel the same as having your natural teeth.
Types of dentures
Complete/full : This is used when all your teeth are missing or will be removed OR
Partial/ Stayplates: This is used when you still have some of your natural teeth
Things you should know before deciding whether to have dentures made for you:
It can take several months for your dentures to be made and delivered.
New dentures often feel odd or loose for the first few months until the muscles in your mouth and tongue learn to keep them in place and you get comfortable putting them in taking them out.
At first, you will feel like you have no room for food in your mouth. You will also have slurred speech (a hard time talking). These feeling can take a long time to go away, but they usually do.
Eating with dentures may be very hard for the first few months. Learning to eat with dentures takes a lot of practice. You should start with soft foods cut into small pieces. Chew your food slowly and try to chew with the back teeth of your dentures. Do not eat sticky foods or chewing gum. These will cause the dentures to move out of place.
It will take a few months before you can speak normally again. Reading out loud and listening to the words that come out of your mouth can help you to speak more clearly again.
You will need to use adhesive (glue) with your dentures. It will help your denture fit better.
You will probably need to have your dentures adjusted many times after you get them. This is normal especially in the first few months. If they hurt, stop wearing your dentures, and make an appointment with your dentist to get them adjusted.
Upper dentures are easier to get used to than lower dentures, and partials dentures are easier to used to than complete dentures, that is why is it very important to improve your oral hygiene if you have partial dentures. This means brushing your teeth more often, using floss, and following other instructions your dentist gives you. If you have partial dentures , your remaining teeth act as an ‘anchor’ for the denture and this helps the dentures stay in place and be more comfortable.
Try to stay healthy and manage other medical problems. MEdical conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure can hurt your mouth and gums. This can cause your dentures to not fit well.
The most important thing about wearing dentures is to take your time getting used to them and don't give up, even if it hard or frustrating at first. The longer you wear dentures the better they feel.