Food Guidance for People Getting Used to False Teeth

24 April 2017
 Categories: Dentist, Blog

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 Prosthetic teeth come in many forms, including false teeth, dental implants, crowns and bridges. Although they all have differing qualities that make them ideal for certain situations, when they are newly fitted they can take some getting used to. This is extremely common when you are eating for the first few times.

Denture wearers may take a few weeks to adjust to their new teeth so don't worry if you find that you have a few teething troubles at first! It is quite common. Let's examine what you should be considering when eating in the first month or so after having dentures, or other dental prosthetics, fitted.

Taste Sensations

When you have something new in your mouth like a dental prosthetic, the brain continually receives information about it to tell you that it is there. As you begin to eat even very flavoursome foods, like mint and chilli, your tongue may not notice them. This is perfectly natural because the neural pathways are being overloaded. So long as you continue as normal, your sense of taste will normalise and you will be able to detect every flavour in just the same manner that you always used to.

Other Sensory Perception

Your mouth might feel a bit different with new teeth fitted. This means it takes a while for your tongue to get used to manipulating food in your mouth, especially when you chew. However, time will tell, and this sense of knowing your own mouth will return. Some new denture wearers report that they have some trouble sensing the temperature of both food and drinks. This is also nothing to worry about because the usual sensation comes back. However, you should exercise a degree of caution when placing hot items into your mouth because you don't want to become scalded.

Ease Yourself In

With new teeth, you might be tempted to eat foods that you couldn't before. Nevertheless, you should not rush. Start with softer foods that get you used to eating with dental prosthetics. A good number of foodstuffs fit the bill: fish, chopped meat, well-cooked vegetables and eggs. Only as you build up your experience with your denture should you move on to chewier foods, such as steaks, apples or confection.

Chew Evenly

If you have false teeth fitted to each side of your mouth, then you should make the effort to chew with both the left and right sets of molars. This way, you will even the distribution of pressure on each set of false teeth.