Patient Information

This should not worry you because the feeling of fullness will soon wear off as you become accustomed to the new dentures in your mouth. You may think that because they feel very big to you they will appear so to others. This is not so and there should be no need for embarrassment. You may have a feeling of gagging or excessive salivation (this is your mouth reacting to a foreign body and producing excess saliva, but when you have worn the dentures for a short time these sensations will disappear. While you are learning to use your dentures it is necessary to have patience.

Control of your dentures in a very short time, others require weeks of patience to do so. It usually takes an average of one to two months to become fully accustomed to them. Friends may tell you how easy it was for them, they could be bragging or they may have forgotten. Each individual has their own time scale for settling down with new dentures, some may take longer then others. It will take some time to get used to your new dentures, particularly if it is your first time. Expect a number of adjustments to your new dentures as they may be need. Always tell your clinician or denturist about any concerns, being specific about them.

Take occasional sips of water from a glass, as reading aloud makes your mouth feel dry. There is no need to be embarrassed about speaking; other people are much less aware of the awkwardness than you are.

This is because your own voice never sounds the same to other people as t 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 in the ordinary way. Therefore any skull changes become such more noticeable to the speaker than to anyone else.

When chewing on one side you may notice a tendency for the dentures to tip and loosen on the opposite side. Attempting to chew food on both sides with the teeth, this will help prevent tipping of your dentures. Provided that you are patient and spend the necessary time practising, you will learn to control the dentures automatically by using the muscles of mastication in your mouth.

All the muscles must learn what they should and should not do. With some new dentures it may have been necessary to increase the height of your upper and or lower so as to have suitable contact sooner. This may have been done through the use of an appliance called an occlusal splint. With a change such as this you will have to develop new chewing habits simply because you will be chewing your food at a different position than that of your old dentures.

Eating food that does not need hard chewing should be started off with (soft food). Also take smaller mouthfuls and chew slowly and evenly. At first do not bite off food with your front teeth; you will learn to do that a later date and the Cut the food into smaller pieces that can easily be put into your mouth. As you begin to become more skilled at using your dentures, you will be able to try harder and tougher foods and eventually you will be able to use your front teeth for biting. Remember, with your natural teeth you bite and pulled but with dentures you bite and push. You may also have difficulty with very thin foods such as lettuce and the skins of apples and tomatoes. You will find apples, tomatoes and bread easy to eat if you first peel them and cut them into smaller slices and quarters.

There are two reasons why food seems to lose some of its taste. First, the feeling of the food being squashed against the palate is lost. Second, although the taste buds are working quite normally the message they send to the brain is interrupted by the very large number of other messages from the sensory nerves in the mouth, telling the brain that a strange new object is in the mouth.

As you become more accustomed to your dentures tour brain pays less attention to these message and more to the messages from the taste buds. When this happens, food regains its taste.

In any case, if you bear in mind that a flow of saliva has always been going on unnoticed in your mouth before you started to use you dentures, you will quickly realise that it is quite a normal condition. The dentures also require a certain amount of saliva to work properly. A dry mouth, also called Xerostomia, may cause the dentures to feel loose and occasionally sore as well. See your medical doctor or general dental practitioner should this condition exist.

Simple rinsing will not clean the dentures thoroughly a denture brush or toothbrush may be used to remove loose food from between the teeth, this should be done every morning and last thing at night.  Abrasive powders or regular toothpaste should never be used as these scratch the denture surface making them more difficult to clean. When brushing your dentures always take the precaution of having a few inches of water in the wash basin to avoid breaking the denture if you were to drop it.

It is also advisable to spread a cloth or flannel in the basin for the same reason.  Always hold the lower denture on the side you are brushing, never in the palm of your hand, as this may cause them to break. Every night you should use a denture cleanser which may be purchased at a pharmacy, but remember o brush off saliva and any food debris before you put the dentures into a bath of cleanser. These denture cleansers are in powder, liquid or tablet form and must be mixed with water according to the manufactures instructions.

Stronger solutions are available through us, or may have denture cleaned and polished professionally by us. Some of the ingredients are very strong, so do not use more than the instructions state.  Soaking for a few minutes is not usually sufficient, even though the denture may look clean. Several hours of immersion is desirable such as an overnight cleaning. Occasionally, soaking your dentures in undiluted vinegar is useful in removing persistent stains and calculus. Ultrasonic cleaners are very effective and may be purchased through us. Always rinse the dentures in water before use. A permanent stain resistant coating can be placed on your dentures so as to make them impervious to stains. This is also available through us and can be put on the dentures in about four hours. Never use bleach or boiling water to clean your dentures

If you do insist on wearing your dentures then you should purchase a very soft bristle toothbrush. Wet this brush with water and brush your gums and palate lightly at bedtime with your dentures out, and again in the morning. This brushing helps to keep your mouth healthy by helping the blood circulate in the area.

If new dentures are left out for longer than overnight, irritated areas may swell and you may have difficulty in wearing the dentures comfortably. When you are not wearing the dentures, always put them in water, never let the dry out or place them in hot water as they will warp and no longer fit properly.

Since it is estimated that for every person who wears an upper denture, there are about ten that wear upper and lower dentures; comparison by patients is therefore more difficult. The conditions under which a single upper denture functions are entirely different from those of an upper and lower denture. The pressures applied to the upper denture by natural teeth are many times greater than those applied by lower dentures. As a result, the single upper denture can be easily moved and tissue changes occur at a much faster rate.

Any slight deviation from an ideal mouth magnifies itself when an upper denture is subjected to the tremendous forces of natural teeth. It is safe to say that the majority of people who wear single upper dentures are not happy about the retention, but when they lose the lower teeth and wear upper and lower dentures, they no longer complain about this same retention. The reason is the failure to create the forces formally exerted by lower natural teeth.

Every time  a patient with a single upper dentures are often tempted to eat everything, and being free of a troublesome lower denture, most of them see no need to change their eating habits. Actually, the same limitations that are placed on upper and lower dentures apply to single uppers.  Failure to heed this warning will only result in trouble.

Even if your mouth becomes sore, please be sure to wear your dentures for the whole of the day before you appointment, otherwise it may be differ cult to tell where the pressure spot is. At first you may find that you bite your cheeks or tongue, but this usually corrects itself after a short time when the muscles have adjusted themselves to the new support. Depending on the amount and rate of change occurring in the month an individual may require adjustment appointments and up to one month to adapt to new dentures.

Most patients report that it disappears when the dentures are removed from the mouth. There is no question of the discomfort that this condition creates. While the burning sensation undoubtedly has been trigged by the dentures, it obviously involves a nerve condition beyond the control of any denturist. As yet, no specific cure is known. Observations indicate that it will continue for a few months or as long as two years and then disappear. Consulting a physician is indicated.

Thus, it is apparent the crushing and shearing forces are not as strong and effective as those in natural teeth. Another problem is the patient who has no lower ridge. The ridge is flat, and the lower denture has no outside flanges. These patients must learn to accept more limitations than normal. The denture can easily be displaced and learning to chew in a straight up and down stroke is absolutely essential. Such a patient should accept changes in select ion of foods to accommodate the impaired condition which exists.

Patients with such conditions would benefit tremendously from implants. Dentures that are held in place by two Titanium Posts are screwed into the lower jaw.  See us for more information or a referral. An increasing problem is the clenching of the teeth during the day. It occurs in all age groups and creates chronic soreness which can result in an amazing loss of bone in a relatively short time. Many patients will insist they are unaware of clenching. Some do it only under certain conditions, or at certain times of the day.

Some say they do so because the dentures are loose. But whatever the reason, it must be stopped if one is to avoid serious damage to the mouth. Returning to us for adjustments provides only temporary relief, and the time will soon come when we can no longer help you. People who clench their teeth are presenting us with a problem ordinarily beyond our ability to control. If we were to treat this as strictly a dental problem, one would be told to keep the lower denture out. Not wearing the lower denture would prevent clenching.

If you refuse to do this, you must either break the habit or suffer serious consequences. By having made a sincere effort to avoid clenching but to no avail, a permanent soft liner can be placed on the lower denture to reduce the pressure significantly. The last problem is chronic soreness of the lower ridge with patients whose alcoholic intake is beyond their own individual tolerance. We are not discussing alcoholism, but a large group of people who drink more than average. For reasons too technical to discuss here, it is a fact that the tissues of the mouth will suffer when some people drink alcoholic beverages in excess. The soreness is usually more acute if there has also been a considerable loss of the ridge.

Here again the problem is common to all age groups, and all types of mouths. How much or how often you drink is not for us to say, but if you are one of the many who are suffering from chronic soreness of the lower ridge, check your drinking habits. Moderation may be your only solution to successful denture service. This is another example of a dental problem beyond the control of a denturist. Consultation with your physician is indicated.

The teeth of the dentures may also become worn and require renewal. When dentures feel loose many people may resort to the use of adhesive powders or pastes to hold them in position. While these aids may be useful on a temporary basis they should not be used routinely. Though  looseness is a sign that natural desorption of the bone has occurred. Prolonged wearing of the dentures in this condition will accelerate the loss of bone. There are products available which one can use to reline or repair ones dentures. DO NOT DO IT YOURSELF. Many people have found out the hard way to do it yourself, relining can cause serious and irreversible harm to your health. If a denture is improperly relined at home, the excessive bulk and resulting pressure can cause the bone to shrink away more rapidly. When this bony ridge is gone it is gone forever. Not only will these dentures do not fit, the damaged bone loss done by these do-it-yourself reliners can also cause irritation to the soft tissues of the mouth. Constant irritation can lead to oral lesions, open sores, and possibly contribute to the development of other more severe conditions. To prevent or correct these problems you will be placed on the recall system with us. You will be recalled sometime within a three to five year period depending upon the type of service you received from us. This will enable us to access any changes and make necessary minor adjustments. There will be no charge for this extended service.