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 become 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 partial dentures in. 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. Cleaning the Dentures - and Your Mouth. Your partial dentures can be cleaned easily by using a denture brush and toothpaste. Use special care to clean parts of the partial that contact any natural teeth. Both the partial denture and the natural teeth must be kept very clean on a daily basis to reduce the chance of new dental decay starting. Use a toothpaste that contains fluoride. 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, then leave them soaking in a water-and-mouthwash solution.

 

5. 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 at least every six (6) months. 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.