Look In The Mirror
Smile. Frown. Be happy. Be sad. Be serious. Practice moving your teeth and lips in private so that you’ll be more confident in front of other people, says Murrell.
Practice Talking
“Having dentures is like having a prosthetic limb,” says Jerry F. Taintor, DDS. “You have to practice using it to use it well.” Say your vowels. Recite your consonants. Read aloud to yourself, he says. Listen to your pronunciation and your diction and correct what doesn’t sound right.
Start Soft And Slow
No, you’re not doomed to baby foods for the rest of your life, but start soft, says Taintor. Gradually increase the texture and hardness of your food so that your gums and your ability to use the dentures build on good experience. (Here’s the 8 best—and worst—foods for your dentures.)
Use An Adhesive
If you feel that your new teeth are a less-than-perfect fit, there’s nothing wrong with using a denture adhesive during the adjustment period, says Taintor. It’s when you have to use the adhesive all the time that you need to have the denture refitted. You can find over-the-counter denture adhesives—a type of soft paste that forms a vacuum between your gums and your dentures to temporarily “glue” them together—in any drugstore. MORE: 6 Mistakes You Make Every Time You Brush Your Teeth
Try A Lozenge
One common complaint among denture wearers, says Murrell, is excess saliva during the first few weeks of wearing dentures. Solve this problem neatly by sucking on lozenges frequently for the first couple of days. This helps you swallow more frequently and gets rid of some of the excess saliva.
Give Your Gums A Rest
Don’t leave your dentures in too long, especially when they’re new. If you develop sore gums, take your dentures out and set them aside for a few days while your gums heal. Then try using the dentures again, suggests Flora Parsa Stay, DDS. Take your dentures out for at least 6 hours a day, either while you’re sleeping or when you’re at home doing household chores, says Stay.
Make A Cleaning Commitment
If you wear implants, you’ll need to set up a twice-daily cleaning ritual just like when you were caring for your original teeth, says Murrell. “We can do beautiful dentistry, but it won’t last if it isn’t taken care of.”
Clean ‘Em Right At Night
Take your dentures out before bed, brush them thoroughly with a denture cleanser, then place them in a glass of water overnight. Avoid using regular toothpastes, because they are too abrasive for most dentures, according to Kenneth Shay, DDS. These pastes can damage your dentures to the point that they don’t fit properly, which will cause sore gums. MORE: 8 Signs You Might Need Dentures
Baby Your Mouth
“Babies are born with plaque in their mouths,” says Eric Shapira, DDS. “Even if you have no teeth, you need to wash your gums to remove the plaque.” Use a soft brush and gently whisk your gums, but not too hard—you don’t want to make the inside of your mouth sore. A good cleaning lowers the possibility of bad breath and helps your gums stay healthier, he says.
Make A Video
A video is valuable for several reasons, says Murrell. It can give you a stranger’s-eye view of how you look. Plus you can show the tape to a dentist, who can look at it to decipher problems in jaw muscles or lip movements.
Watch Out For Toothpicks
Those tiny wooden spikes are especially dangerous for denture wearers, says Taintor. “You lose a lot of your tactile sense with dentures. You bite into a toothpick, but you don’t know it because you can’t feel it. You can get it accidentally lodged in your throat.” MORE: 12 Things Your Dentist Knows About You Just From Looking Into Your Mouth
Massage Your Gums
Place your thumb and index finger over your gums (index on the outside) and massage them. This promotes circulation and gives your gums a healthy firmness.
Rinse With Salty Water
To help you to clean your gums, rinse your mouth daily with 1 teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water, says Taintor.
Douse The Ache
Take out your dentures, then rinse your mouth three times a day with a 1/2 cup of rinse made with goldenseal, a potent herbal remedy, to help soothe denture pain, Stay says. To prepare the rinse, add 1/2 tablespoon of dried goldenseal and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda to 1/2 cup of warm water. Cool and strain before using. MORE: 12 Red Flags To Watch For At The Dentist’s Office
Seek Herbal Soothing
Dab a bit of aloe vera gel or eucalyptus oil on a cotton swab and apply it to the spots on your gums where the dentures are rubbing, suggests Stay. These products help soothe and heal sore gums. You can use them as needed, but for best results, avoid eating for at least 1 hour after application.
Rule Out Allergies
Some people are allergic to denture cleansers and adhesives, says Stay. A few are even allergic to materials in the dentures themselves. There may be a burning sensation in the mouth, and allergies can irritate the gums and cause mouth ulcers. If you suspect you have an allergy, ask your dentist about other cleansers and adhesives you can use. Try them out one by one and see whether the irritation subsides. If there’s no change, leave your dentures out and see what happens. If the dentures are the cause of the pain, you may need new dentures that are made with different materials, Stay says.
Expect Change
Over time, your dentures may not fit as well as they once did, says Shay. No matter what your age, your gums continue to change over time, and as they do, dentures that once fit like a glove may begin to feel like hippo teeth. These dentures will need to be adjusted or replaced. MORE: 7 Weird Things Your Teeth Are Trying To Tell You
Kitchen Cures For Common Denture Problems
What you put in your mouth (and your stomach) can help with common denture troubles. Try these tasty remedies: Mint: If your dentures are causing you pain, try mint anything—gum, candies, tea. The herb has a numbing effect on whatever it touches, and can make sore gums feel better. Chile Pepper: Considered the herbal equivalent of aspirin, chile pepper contains capsaicin, a compound that stimulates the release of pain-relieving endorphins. If you’re bothered by mouth pain, eat fresh chile or season your food with red pepper flakes. Tea: Real teeth or dentures, you still have plaque to fight, and doing so will keep your gums healthier and your breath fresher. Tea can help, since it contains numerous compounds that act as antibiotics. Drinking it is a great way to wash away bacteria. Black tea is best; rinsing your mouth with black tea several times a day fights plaque buildup better than swishing with just water. (Try one of these 4 teas for younger skin.)
Dentures And Drugs
Drugs that cause dry mouth can contribute to denture pain, says Gretchen Gibson, DDS. Without enough saliva, your dentures will rub against your gums and cause discomfort. Medications that are used to control high blood pressure, like prazosin (Minipress), and antidepressants like amitriptyline (Elavil), are among the common drugs prescribed to seniors that can dry out the mouth and lead to denture discomfort, Gibson says. Denture pain may also be a side effect of: Diuretics such as chlorothiazide (Diuril) or furosemide (Lasix) Nitroglycerin (Nitrostat) and other drugs used to control angina Oxybutynin (Ditropan) and other drugs used to control urinary incontinence Oral steroids used for asthma, like beclomethasone (Beclovent)
Panel Of Advisors
Gretchen Gibson, DDS, is director of the geriatric dentistry program at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Dallas. George A. Murrell, DDS, is a retired prosthodontist in Manhattan Beach, California. He also has taught at the University of Southern California School of Dentistry in Los Angeles. Eric Shapira, DDS, is a dentist in the San Francisco Bay area and a spokesperson for the Academy of General Dentistry. Kenneth Shay, DDS, is chief of dental services at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Ann Arbor. Flora Parsa Stay, DDS, is a dentist in Oxnard, California, and author of The Complete Book of Dental Remedies. Jerry F. Taintor, DDS, is former chair of endodontics at the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry in Memphis and UCLA School of Dentistry. He is author of The Complete Guide to Better Dental Care..
