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Dental Care-New Denture Wearer Tips

By Charles Hopkins Published 11/27/2007 | Health
There are many dental care procedures that Dentists use for replacing missing teeth. Dentures are one such procedure. You have three types of dentures that you can opt for:

1. partial dentures
2. Over-dentures
3. Complete dentures

Of the three, complete dentures are the most commonly used.
Complete dentures are used by patients who have lost all of their teeth for one reason or another. Though nothing can replace your natural teeth in terms of quality, complete dentures are the next best option. Besides helping you chew your food, dentures prevent your facial muscles from sagging.

If you are opting for complete denture replacement, you should keep in mind that sometimes they can cause pain and discomfort. Dentures are most likely to cause discomfort in the initial stage of adjustment and after some years of use. During the initial stage your dentures will try to adjust to your gum structure and this is what causes the pain. After some time the bony ridge of your gums will shrink due to lack of stimulation. Your dentures will then become more comfortable.

Tips To Avoid Denture Discomfort

You do not always have to suffer pain, with these helpful tips you can avoid most of the problems associated with dentures:

1. Always keep your dentures clean, especially during the adjustment period. Clean dentures reduce the chance of bacterial infection which helps the healing process. Once your gums have healed your dentures will fit properly. You can clean your dentures with toothpaste, soap, or water.

2. Keep your gums clean to keep bacteria away. Brushing is a good way to provide stimulation for your gums in order to keep them healthy.

3. During the adjustment period, only eat soft foods. This will
also assist with the healing process. Once the dentures have adjusted you can go back to eating what you ate before, though you should avoid chewing hard food such as apples or corn on the cob.

4. If your dentures are causing pain, you can take ibuprofen or some type of pain killer.

5. In the adjustment stage dentures tend to cause soreness. A great way of relieving gum soreness is by removing your dentures for a couple of hours everyday. If the soreness continues, visit your dentist as soon as possible.

6. Salt water rinse can work magic on the gums. This is a great way of keeping bacteria at bay.

7. If you need to make adjustments, let your dentist handle it. Never do any modifications to your dentures yourself. You could harm your dentures or yourself.

8. Remember to always remove your dentures when you go off to sleep. This will provide your gums some much needed rest.

With these helpful tips you can keep pain and soreness to a minimum and enjoy your dentures.