Care Following Your New Complete Dentures

We have done our best to provide you with well-fitted, functional, and aesthetically pleasing dentures. We feel confident that after a few weeks of adjustment, you will enjoy years of satisfaction and use. In the meantime, the following is information you need to know.

New Complete Dentures
  1. Your First Few Weeks. New dentures always feel strange when first placed in your mouth. Several days or even a few weeks will be required for you to feel accustomed to them.
  2. Sore Spots. Your mouth will most likely have a few sore spots about 24 hours after you first put your new dentures in. Such sore spots can be relieved by your doctor with very little effort. An initial readjustment appointment should be made, and another appointment about seven days later will usually eliminate any other sore areas.
  3. Chewing. The new “bite” or occlusion will not feel comfortable for a period of days. We will adjust the contacting surfaces of your teeth after 24 hours, and again in about one week after the dentures have “settled” into place.
  4. Upper vs. Lower Dentures. Your upper denture will rest comfortably in place with moderate-to-strong “suction.” Although your lower denture will have good stability, it is infrequent that “suction” can be expected on a lower denture. We suggest that you avoid denture adhesives unless you have extreme difficulty.
  5. Cleaning the Dentures - and Your Mouth. Your dentures can be cleaned easily by using a denture brush and toothpaste. Denture soaks are also useful for the denture. Brush your gums with a regular toothbrush once per day to toughen and clean them. You may leave the dentures in or out of your mouth at night, depending on your preference. If they are out of your mouth, leave them soaking in a water-and-mouthwash solution.
  6. The Future. Your jawbones and gums shrink up to 1/32 of an inch per year when your teeth are missing. This is one of the main disadvantages of dentures. Because of this shrinkage, you should plan to have your dentures and oral tissues evaluated by us once per year. We will inform you when relining or rebasing of the dentures is necessary. Wearing ill-fitting dentures for too long without refitting can cause severe bone loss and very serious oral disease. Even dentures that “fit” comfortably need to be checked along with your tissue.

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