Removable dentures are an effective treatment option for patients in North Carolina who want to address and correct how the loss of one or more teeth has affected their appearance, speech, and ability to eat. These dental appliances are customized for each patient based on their mouth and dental issues. Once you’re fitted for dentures and begin wearing them full-time, you’ll enjoy all the benefits associated with these dental appliances.
Tips for Maintaining Your Removable Dentures in North Carolina
If you live in North Carolina and are a good candidate for removable dentures, it’s important that you know how to care for your new dental appliances so that you have realistic expectations about what living with dentures is like and how you can maintain them long-term to extend their longevity.
Handle Your Dentures With Care
Whenever you handle your dentures, whether removing them, inserting them, or cleaning them, always use care to avoid damaging them. Mishandling dentures can result in issues with their fit, feel, and function. Removable dentures are designed to last, but it’s always important that you be mindful and careful when handling them to avoid any minor or major damage that will require denture repair or replacement.
Thoroughly Clean Your Dentures Daily
Just like natural teeth, dentures must be cleaned daily. Cleaning your dentures thoroughly multiple times a day will ensure that they stay pristine and stain-free. After you eat, remove your dentures and rinse them with water to ensure that food debris hasn’t lodged in any areas between or beneath the teeth. Use a soft bristle brush and dental cleanser to clean your dentures daily to eliminate any bacteria, food deposits, and plaque that can form on the synthetic teeth.
Always Remove Your Dentures at Night
Removing your dentures at night can extend their longevity and improve oral health. There are several advantages to removing these dental appliances at night, including the fact that doing so helps prevent bone loss. Without giving your gums a break, the pressure put on the area by the dentures can cause bone loss over time.
This effect also results in loose-fitting dentures, so removing them at night is critical to maintaining the appliance and ensuring a proper fit. Additionally, giving your mouth a break at night prevents bacteria growth and gum inflammation.
Soak Your Dentures Nightly
Not only do you need to remove your dentures at night, but you should soak them to ensure they maintain the proper shape and are ready to re-insert when you awake. The best option for soaking dentures is a mild solution that’s specifically designed for denture cleaning.
Your dentist can recommend the right denture cleanser to use nightly to kill odor-causing bacteria, keep your teeth white and bright, clean and remove any deep stains, and ensure your dentures are always ready for daily wear. Always rinse your dentures after removing them from the nightly soaking solution to avoid contaminating your gums with any harsh chemicals or active ingredients.
Schedule Routine Dental Examinations
Even though your dentures aren’t natural teeth, you still need to schedule routine dental examinations so your dentist can evaluate your oral appliances for any potential issues and take steps to correct them before they negatively affect your oral health. Routine examinations are also important because they allow the dentist to examine your gum tissue and bone structure to ensure proper denture fit and that they’re helping you maintain optimal oral health, the normal ability to chew, and improved speech.
If you do have any issues with your dentures, your dentist can make adjustments at these appointments and even recommend new dentures if you’re experiencing significant issues with their fit and feel.
Practice Healthy Lifestyle Habits
Your lifestyle choices impact your oral health and can affect your dentures. Eating healthy foods, exercising regularly, avoiding smoking, and engaging in a low-stress lifestyle will all help you maintain and extend the longevity of your dentures so you can enjoy optimal oral health and the benefits of dentures. Staying hydrated will help prevent a dry mouth, ensuring a proper denture fit and comfortable feel.
A dry mouth leads to dry gums, making dentures feel loose and causing sores and irritation. Additionally, bone tissue deterioration diseases like osteoporosis can affect your gums, negatively impacting how your dentures fit and feel. By taking steps to prevent or manage osteoporosis, you’ll ensure healthy bone density, extend the life of your dentures, and ensure they fit comfortably and meet all your oral needs.
Avoid Significant Weight Loss
Significant weight loss can change your mouth shape, negatively affecting how your dentures fit. If you plan on losing a significant amount of weight, inform your dentist so that they can take the right steps to ensure proper denture fit.
If you have lost a significant amount of weight and your dentures suddenly don’t fit the way they used to or are causing discomfort, recent weight loss may be to blame. If that’s the case, you can schedule an appointment with your dentist, who will then recommend the best treatment protocol and how to proceed to ensure optimal comfort.
Adjust Your Diet
As a denture wearer, you’ll need to modify your diet to maintain the condition of your dentures and avoid denture damage. During those first few weeks after getting fitted for your dentures, you’ll need to avoid certain foods to prevent additional irritation or inflammation as your body adjusts to this dental appliance. Once the initial adjustment ends, you can eat your favorite food, with a few exceptions.
There are some foods you’ll need to avoid as much as possible as a denture wearer to maintain your dentures, ensure the proper fit, and prevent denture damage. Dentists recommend that denture wearers avoid the following foods:
- Hard foods
- Sticky foods
- Excessively hot foods
- Foods with sharp edges
- Chewing gum
- Acidic foods
- Foods that stain the teeth
The Importance of Dietary Adjustments
Hard foods can cause denture teeth to break; sticky foods can get lodged between dentures and teeth, causing damage or fit issues; acidic foods can cause gum tissue irritation below the dentures; and beverages like wine, coffee, tea, and certain spices can all cause staining that will affect denture aesthetics.
Once you’re fitted for dentures, your dentist will provide you with a complete list of foods to avoid and acceptable substitutions so you can still enjoy your favorite flavors without risking your dentures or oral health.
Schedule Immediate Denture Repair As Needed
If you incidentally damage your dentures, it’s important that you immediately schedule an appointment with your dentist to have them repaired or replaced as soon as possible. Addressing denture issues soon after the damage occurs will ensure you can maintain your oral health and ability to chew, speak, and operate normally without significant interruption.
If you live in North Carolina and are missing or have extracted teeth and want to achieve a beautiful smile and regain your ability to chew and speak normally, you may be the perfect candidate for dentures. We’ll ensure the most natural-looking and comfortable fit with full or partial dentures. Contact us today at a Smith Family and Cosmetic Dentistry location in Sneads Ferry, Porters Neck, Jacksonville, Goldsboro, Hampstead, Wilmington, Surf City, and New Bern, NC, to schedule your appointment.