Dentures are prosthetic dental devices for patients who have lost teeth. They can replace all or just some of your teeth and be implanted or removable. The thought of replacing natural teeth with a prosthetic makes some patients nervous. It’s common to be concerned about how dentures might affect your life, including your eating habits.
Dr. Barret Davidson helps patients in and around McKinney, TX understand their denture options at Texas Sage Dentistry. Below is some information on types of dentures and how they can affect your food habits.
Tooth loss can affect your confidence. But dentures are a natural-looking way to restore your smile and allow you to eat, drink, and speak normally again. Dr. Davidson offers a range of restorative dentistry treatments at Texas Sage Dentistry, including the following types of dentures:
Partial dentures can be aesthetic or functional and are designed to replace multiple missing teeth in patients who still have some remaining healthy teeth. It’s most common in those who cannot have a dental bridge because they don’t enough teeth to support it. They’re also less expensive than a bridge, and they’re typically removable.
These are the types of dentures available:
Also called “complete dentures,” full dentures are designed for patients missing all teeth on the top, bottom, or both arches. These restore your smile, speech, and the function of your mouth after accidents or severe dental disease.
Hybrid dentures are a cross between a dental bridge and a denture. They require dental implant surgery and are fused into the jaw. They work best for those missing only some teeth in an arch and who have a healthy jaw.
Part of the point of getting dentures is being able to eat normally again. People who suffer tooth loss may have pain or sensitivity in some areas of their mouth while chewing or have to restrict their chewing to just one side. With dentures, eating becomes natural again.
Almost immediately after getting your new dentures, you’ll want to ease back into solid foods slowly. The first few days after surgery will likely require a liquid diet. Options include pureed foods, soups, smoothies (without seeds), and yogurt.
Once you get used to your dentures, you can explore soft foods, such as scrambled eggs, steamed or boiled vegetables, and mashed potatoes. And when you move on to small bits of chewable food, you will likely need practice if you’ve been missing teeth for a significant period of time. You should try to chew on both sides and do so carefully to avoid putting too much pressure on the jaw at first.
Patients with dentures are typically back to their normal eating habits 3 –4 weeks after surgery.
While you may be excited to get back to a wider range of foods once you have a full set of teeth, it’s important to avoid foods that pull at the teeth, such as sticky taffies and chewing gum.
Food may get stuck between removable dentures and your gums, so it’s wise to have a beverage with your meal to rinse it away as much as possible. Denture adhesives will also prevent food from sticking to dentures and gums.
There are some unexpected foods that it’s wise to avoid if you have dentures, including:
These foods require you to bite in hard and tear food away with your teeth, pulling the dentures away from your gums, which can cause misalignment and soreness.
Some foods that splinter make it easy to get little pieces caught between your dentures and gums, causing pain. Other foods to avoid with dentures include:
Of course, you can make these an occasional treat, especially if you plan to take your dentures out for cleaning shortly after your meal.
Dentures can change your life, restore your love for food, and give you back your confidence. Even though you may have to cut back on some of your favorite snacks, they can be beneficial to your health in the long run.
If you’re ready for a consultation about your dental needs, contact Texas Sage Dentistry to talk with Dr. Barret Davidson and his team in McKinney, TX.
400 N Tennessee St, McKinney, TX 75069
0 comments