What To Expect When Adjusting to New Dentures

If patients are suffering from missing teeth or teeth that need to be removed, dentures can be one option for allowing them to continue to be able to use their mouth properly. Here are a few changes a patient should expect to make as part of adjusting to new dentures.

Understanding your dentures

Depending on the needs of the patient, there are a few different varieties of dentures that may be used. It can be helpful to be aware of what type of dentures are being used and whether they are a partial or complete set. Partial dentures are used to replace a few missing teeth, whereas full dentures replace all of the upper or lower teeth. Partial dentures will still need to be removed and cleaned like full dentures, but patients will also need to continue to care for their remaining teeth as well.

Adjusting your dental care routine

Making a few changes to a regular dental care routine is an important part of adjusting to new dentures. Dentures need to be cleaned regularly, especially after being taken out or accidentally dropped. This can be done by rinsing them off in a bowl of water and toweling them dry. Generally, at the end of the day, dentures should be left to soak overnight in a denture solution.

Brushing dentures

For routine cleaning every morning and evening, the dentures should be brushed and then removed and soaked in a cleaning solution that matches the manufacturer's recommendations. After soaking and rinsing the cleaning solution off of the dentures, it is OK to brush them one more time to ensure that they are thoroughly cleaned. One thing to keep in mind when adjusting to new dentures is that they can be less resilient than teeth. To prevent damage, they should be treated gently and not brushed too harshly.

Dentist appointments for dentures

While people with full dentures may initially wonder if going to the dentist is still necessary, it can still be a good idea to go regularly. As a patient is adjusting to new dentures, regular appointments help ensure that everything is working properly. A dentist should be able to monitor how the dentures are fitting in the mouth and adjust them if needed.

It can be recommendable for people with dentures to visit the dentist about twice a year, the same as if they had a full set of teeth. In addition to this, patients who are experiencing discomfort or suspect that new dentures aren't fitting properly should schedule an appointment as soon as possible to remedy the problem.