One of the many reasons dentures are increasingly becoming more popular than their alternatives, like dental implants and crowns, is that you can remove and clean them. East Village dentures can replace missing teeth and thus prevent excessive shifting and misalignment of the remaining teeth and support your facial structure. You may lose your teeth because of gum infection, traumatic injury, or dental caries.
Even with the many benefits of dentures, they also have disadvantages, especially if your dentist does not provide you with properly fitting dental appliances and you do not observe the correct maintenance routine.
Subsequently, below are some problems you may encounter when wearing dentures for the first time.
Unpleasant breath
Medically referred to as halitosis, you may have an unpleasant smell coming from your mouth if you do not properly and regularly clean your dentures. Without cleaning dentures, the crevices and cracks capture and accumulate food debris and bacteria, forming plaque and tartar.
Also, if you wear dentures, you are at high risk of dry mouth, characterized by inadequate production and availability of saliva in the mouth.
You can relieve dry mouth by staying hydrated, sipping water frequently, limiting the intake of alcohol, and avoiding acidic juices and alcoholic and caffeinated drinks.
Impaired chewing and speaking
It often becomes difficult to chew and pronounce some words during the initial stages of wearing dentures. That is because dentures may be too long or short for your mouth.
Also, loose dentures may make it harder for you to chew or speak normally.
However, as you get used to wearing dentures, the eating and speaking difficulties will diminish gradually.
You can ensure you quickly resolve impaired speech by repeatedly undertaking loud pronunciation of words that give you trouble while talking.
Combat eating and chewing problems by avoiding sticky foods, distributing and chewing food in different parts of the mouth, and avoiding tough-to-chew red meat and other foods.
Excess production of saliva
Excess saliva production during the first few days of wearing new dentures does not mean your mouth has a bad reaction. Normally, you will produce more saliva than usual if you have a foreign object in the mouth or the dental appliance is holding your mouth in an unusual position.
You can get rid of the excess saliva in your mouth by swallowing more often and eating some mints. With time, your mouth learns to accommodate dentures in your mouth, and thus your salivary glands will start producing normal levels of saliva.
Improperly fitting dentures
If you have dentures that do not fit properly in your mouth, you will feel discomfort, experience a clicking noise during eating, and have impaired speech. You may also experience difficulty eating and swallowing, and moving dentures.
The dentures feel like slipping from your teeth when you are grinning, laughing, coughing, or speaking. Improperly fitted dentures can harm your mouth and jaws. For instance, the jawbone may lose its normal volume and shrink.
Ensure your denturist properly fits you with the right size of dentures. Other potential solutions include biting down improperly secured dentures and applying a denture adhesive.
Contact East Village Dental Center today to schedule an appointment with a denture specialist.