Partial dentures are used to replace missing teeth when the majority of your natural teeth are still present. Even though dentures can help restore your smile, they can take some time to adjust to, particularly when it comes to eating.
Here are some tips to get used to your partial dentures :
Practice patience.
Eating with partial dentures is different than eating with natural teeth, so you'll need to adjust the way you eat for a while before you're comfortable. You must exercise patience, even though it may be frustrating at first.
Chewing with your natural teeth is easier, because your tooth's nerves send signals to your brain about how hard or soft to chew the food in your mouth. The prosthetic teeth with partial dentures do not have a connection to your brain, making chewing difficult at first.
Before going on to meats and harder things, start with soft foods like eggs, veggies, fish, and oatmeal. To make chewing easier, ensure that your meal is sliced into little bite-size pieces.
Do not use your front teeth.
Biting down on food will be tough if your partial dentures are in the front of your mouth, and this can damage your dentures. Instead of biting down on an apple with your front teeth, chop it into smaller pieces using a knife. This will make it easier to eat the meal while also preventing damage to your dentures.
Certain foods should be avoided.
There are certain meals you should avoid if you have partial dentures to avoid damaging them.
Among them are:
Peanuts/peanut butter: Peanut butter, like all sticky foods, should be avoided due to the harm it causes to dentures.
Steak: If you enjoy meat, this will be difficult to give up, but it is one of the sacrifices you must make if you wear dentures, as chewing tough meats can place a lot of strain on your teeth and the gums behind them, causing pain.
Hard candy: Biting down on hard candy can damage your dentures and cost you money; this does not mean you can't enjoy candy; it only means that if you must have hard candy, you should suck it rather than biting down on it with your dentures.
Also be aware of popcorn kernels because they can get stuck in your teeth, are difficult to remove, and can harm your partial dentures, especially if you bite an unpopped kernel by accident.
Regularly brush your dentures.
Dentures do not negate the importance of good oral hygiene. Brush and clean your partial dentures on a regular basis to reduce gum inflammation and decay of your remaining natural teeth.
Conclusion
It will take some getting used to eating with partial dentures, but if you follow the advice above, you should be able to eat most of the foods you used to eat before you got the dentures.