Your New Dentures

You've just received your new dentures. Whether you're a seasoned veteran or a new denture wearer, there may be many questions that need to be answered. We hope that the following information will prove to be helpful during the next few weeks of your denture adjustment period.

KEEP YOUR OLD SET if you have them !  If your new dentures need any adjustments after fitting, we may need to keep them for a few days so keep your old set as a spare.

It is very important that you continue to see your own dentist regularly to evaluate the state of your oral tissues and to determine if additional treatment is required. NHS patients will need to visit their dentist at least every 15 months or they can be de-registered.

Learning to wear new dentures can take time. Don't become discouraged if you find some difficulty in the beginning. You are not alone! Please do not compare yourself to friends who tell you how easy it was for them to get used to their dentures and how they can eat everything and anything. They may have greater bone or gum support or their memories may be faded. Your Clinical Dental Technician (denturist) will help you through any difficulties you may face or any situations that may arise during your adjustment period.

A lower denture usually takes more time to adjust to than an upper denture. The tongue may feel restricted and will tend to play, sometimes even subconsciously, with the new denture. It will soon adapt to the restrictions and to the new feeling that a denture presents.

Try to eat only soft foods for the first few days. Then progress to more solid foods and try to eat slowly and deliberately. By placing food on both sides of the mouth at the same time while chewing, you balance the biting forces on the new denture and will help to make it more stable. The longer you take to eat your meal, the faster you will learn to master your new dentures.

Try to take small bites at first. Cut all your food into small portions. If your gum tissues are strong enough to try foods which require biting such as bread and fruits, try to chew the food with the back teeth in order to stabilise the denture

It is perfectly normal to experience some discomfort associated with sore spots during the adjustment period. Nature did not intend for us to wear hard plastic against soft gum tissue. It takes a while for the gum tissues to firm up and to accommodate the hard plastic denture.

If sore spots should develop - TRY to wear the denture for at least 6 hours prior to your adjustment visit! If your Clinical Dental Technician (denturist)  can't see the sore spot, it is sometimes impossible for him to make the necessary adjustments.

Reading aloud during the first couple of days will go a long way in reducing any minor speech problems which may result from wearing a new denture. If speech problems continue to persist, please let your Clinical Dental Technician (denturist) know.

An unclean denture is neither healthy, attractive nor comfortable. Clean

your new denture each morning and night with a toothbrush and denture

toothpaste (if necessary, any toothpaste can be used) or with one of the

commercially available denture cleaners. Please be sure to check with

your Clinical Dental Technician (denturist)  that the denture cleaner

will not interfere with any liner that you may have on your denture.

Soft liners react poorly to most 'fizzy' bleach based cleaners and can

be irreparably damaged. We can sell you professional cleaner that will

not damage a soft liner.

You may prefer to leave out one or both of your dentures at night. This allows your gum tissues to breathe and also relieves them of the constant pressures of chewing. If you do not want to do this then try to take your dentures out for at least 1 hour each day – an ideal time to do this is during showering / bathing.

Gum tissues are in a constant state of change but dentures are not. Therefore, periodic relining of your dentures may be necessary. If you find your dentures getting looser and chewing more difficult, this may be a sign that a reline is needed. Dentures typically need to be relined or remade every 2-5 years.

NEVER try to adjust your dentures yourself! The process of adjustment is just as intricate and important as all the preceding stages and needs to be undertaken by your  Clinical Dental Technician (denturist). We cannot take any responsibility for problems incurred by self adjustment of your dentures.