"Dentures, whether partial or full, require regular, proper care to keep them clean and free from stains and bacteria. Proper care can keep both your dentures and your mouth in good shape. These helpful tips explain the correct way to clean, handle, and store your dentures.
How to Clean Dentures
Remove and rinse dentures after meals. If you can't always clean your dentures after every meal, be sure to rinse and brush them at least once a day with a denture cleanser, mild dish soap or liquid hand soap to remove plaque, food, and other particles.
If you use a denture adhesive, clean any leftover adhesive off of your gums. Don't use a denture cleanser to do this. Brush your natural teeth and clean your tongue, cheeks, and the roof of your mouth. Soak dentures in the solution overnight. Your dentist and your brand of the solution may have their own recommendations, so follow instructions.
Some things you should never use to clean dentures include:
- Abrasive cleaning items. Stiff-bristled brushes and harsh cleansers and toothpaste are way too abrasive and can seriously damage dentures.
- Whitening toothpaste. Toothpaste with whitening properties can be really abrasive. Don't use them to clean dentures.
- Products with bleach. Bleach weakens dentures and changes their color. Solutions that contain can also tarnish the metal fixtures in dentures with metal attachments.
- Hot water. In addition to sterilizing your dentures, hot water could warp them.
Handling Dentures
Before putting dentures back in, rinse them thoroughly, especially if you use a cleansing solution. If ingested, the solution's harmful chemicals can cause vomiting, pain, or burns. Dentures are very delicate and can break easily if they are dropped. When handling your dentures, always hold them over a soft towel or fill your sink up with water.
Where to Store Dentures
Dentures can become warped if they dry out or are placed in hot water. When you are not wearing them, your dentures should always be kept in room temperature water or in a denture solution recommended by your dentist.
Never wrap your dentures in a paper towel. They could easily be mistaken for trash and thrown away. Store smart by keeping your dentures far out of reach of kids and pets. Kids love to play with dentures and dogs love to chew them up.
Maintain Good Oral Health
Schedule regular visits to the dentist to have your mouth and dentures examined and cleaned. If your dentures ever feel loose, see your dentist immediately. Loose dentures can cause sores, irritation, and infection. All of this info and more can be found at https://www.verywellhealth.com/how-to-take-care-of-your-dentures-1059195"
"Dentures are man-made appliances used to replace missing teeth and they're sometimes known as 'false teeth.' Dentures are made from plastic and molded to fit your mouth but they can feel uncomfortable and awkward for several weeks while you're getting used to them. You'll make more saliva, they'll slip around just a bit and you may have a few sore spots while your mouth is healing.
Adjusting to life with dentures may take some time while your facial muscles adapt to the new sensations, changes in your ability to taste some of your foods, plus you'll need to learn how to chew with dentures. Start slowly and choose soft foods that are easy to eat until your dentures are settled in and you feel comfortable eating solid foods again.
Tips for Eating with New Dentures
- Start with a liquid diet that includes purees and soft foods such as applesauce, puddings, cooked cereals, chopped boiled eggs and soup broth.
- Be careful with hot liquids and foods so you don't burn your mouth. You won't be able to judge the temperatures correctly due to the insulating quality of the denture.
- Don't hold liquids in your mouth for a long time before swallowing. This can loosen bottom dentures.
- You might find that foods taste different with dentures. Your sense of taste should improve over time.
- When you're ready to move on to solid foods, start with a mechanical soft diet. Be sure to cut your foods into tiny pieces.
- Distribute your food evenly on both sides in the back of your mouth when you chew, this will help keep your dentures more stable while you eat.
- Chew slowly and thoroughly before you swallow. Don't gulp down large pieces of unchewed food because you could choke on them.
- Slice fresh fruits and vegetables into very thin slices or chop them into tiny pieces, so they are easy to chew or cook them before serving.
- Whole grain bread and cereals are good for you, but they may stick to your teeth. Eat them with liquids to make them easier to chew and swallow.
- Replace tough red meats with poultry, fish, eggs, and legumes, or choose stewed or slow-cooked meats.
- Denture adhesives may help for eating foods that require a strong bite (like corn on the cob), but you may wish to avoid very hard or very sticky foods.
Take is slow for a while and remember a little soreness is to be expected as the muscles in your tongue and around your mouth get used to keeping your new dentures in place (using the right dental adhesive is so important, too). But be sure to keep your dentist updated if these problems don't go away.
Eating After Healing
Once you are fully adjusted to wearing and chewing with dentures, you should be able to eat almost anything. However, there may be some foods that will always be difficult to eat such as foods that are hard, sticky or contain small hard particles.
Even with a strong mouth and well-fitting dentures, it's a good idea to be careful when you eat whole fresh fruits, hard crusty bread, tough stringy red meats, peanut butter or almond butter, chewing gum, sticky candy, fruits, and berries with seeds, nuts and peanuts, sunflower seeds, and coconut. All of this info can be found at https://www.verywellhealth.com/tips-for-eating-with-new-dentures-2507129"
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