New denture wearers are excited to eat their favorite things again, such as corn on the cob, steak, and gooey frozen desserts, but the trip back to normal eating habits is sometimes unpleasant. Biting and chewing are different now than they were before, and the dread of their dentures slipping while eating keeps them away from eateries.
Wearing a partial or complete denture if you’ve lost some or all of your teeth helps you to keep your smile and chew your meals comfortably. However, because artificial teeth are not a replacement for actual teeth, they cannot be expected to operate as well; patience and learning are required.
How to eat with dentures
Try these techniques to help you acclimate to your new set of teeth before you turn down every merry and eating offer.
- Take it slowly: Learning to eat with your new dentures is usually the most challenging part. Artificial teeth, unlike genuine teeth, are only supported by the gums rather than the bone. So don’t be discouraged if you have a few setbacks at initially.
- Chew on both sides of your mouth: When you chew on one side of your mouth, the opposite side may tip and loosen. Tipping can be avoided by chewing on both sides. However, learning to manipulate your dentures automatically utilizing your mouth’s mastication muscles takes time and practice.
- Form new chewing habits: Some dentures require you to raise the height of some of your higher and/or lower teeth in order for them to make contact sooner. Because you will be eating at a different position than your natural teeth, you will need to adjust your chewing habits as a result of these modifications.
- Begin with eating things that do not require much hard chewing, such as eggs, puddings, fish, and cooked vegetables.
- Chew slowly and evenly in smaller mouthfuls: Cut your food into little pieces that you can easily swallow.
- Avoid biting food off with your front teeth. As you gain experience with your dentures, you can do this along with eating harder and tougher meals. Consider utilizing denture adhesives if you wish to eat items that demand a powerful bite.
- Take care not to burn your mouth when eating or drinking hot foods or drinks.
- Avoid leaving beverages in your mouth for longer than required, as this can cause your dentures to loosen.
Foods to eat with dentures
If you have well-fitting dentures, you can actually enjoy a varied and well balanced diet, so you will not only be able to eat with your friends, but also improve your health. You might not be able to continue eating your normal foods for a while; fortunately, this is not a permanent situation. You can gradually adjust to eating the foods they enjoy as you get used to the new feel of your teeth.
Foods to eat on your first day with dentures
- Hot cereals
- Pudding
- Broth, juice, or yogurt
- Applesauce or Gelatin dessert
- Mashed potatoes or other mashed vegetables
Foods to eat on your first week with dentures
- Cooked rice, pasta, and greens
- Soft bread
- Soft, skin-free fish
- Baked beans
- Soup with cooked vegetables and soft meats
Foods to avoid with dentures
- Coffee – You may need to consume less coffee to reduce the risk of discoloring your dentures, since any stains on your dentures can’t be removed or whitened like natural teeth. Moreover, you need to keep your mouth adequately moist to avoid irritating the gums.
- Popcorn and nuts – Corn fragments that get lodged beneath the dentures can make them unstable, especially since you tend to chew with one side more than the other, in addition to making your mouth dry from the salt. Instead, consider veggie chips or pitted olives for a snack.
- Hard, sticky, and chewy lollies – It’s best to avoid sticky items as they may dislodge your teeth. Instead, you can treat yourself with some soft ice cream.
- Breads and crackers – Although foods that contain seeds and grains are healthy, they should be consumed carefully to prevent the particles from getting stuck under your dentures and causing instability. Choose foods that use refined flour and small or no seeds.
- Steak – If you struggled to bite into large pieces of meat when you had your strong natural teeth, then it will be even harder to enjoy yourself with dentures. Hard chewy foods will not only destabilize your dentures, but also gum irritation and sore spots from chewing aggressively over the same spot. To enjoy your meat with dentures, choose softer cuts of red meat (preferably slow-cooked to soften them) or opt for softer types of meat like fish and chicken.
- Hard fruits and raw vegetables – You need to avoid any foods that exert a lot of pressure on your dentures from biting or chewing, including carrots, applies, and corn on the cob. Instead, opt for softer fruits and cooked vegetables, especially smoothies and mashed meals.
How to eat a hamburger with dentures
Finally, remember that you are wearing dentures. You bite and pull with natural teeth, while you bite and push with dentures. Check the video below to learn how to enjoy your hamburger while wearing dentures:
