On the first day you get your dentures, you might be excited to pop them inside your mouth and go out into the world. However, you'll need to keep the things below in your mind if you want to adjust properly and avoid problems for you and your dentures.

Be Ready for Soreness

One thing you may not expect after a few hours of wearing your dentures is that your gums start to feel sore. Don't be alarmed if that happens; some discomfort is normal as you adjust to these new things in your mouth. To ease any soreness, you can rinse your gums with saltwater every few hours throughout the day. You can also purchase pain gel to provide some relief.

In the days to come, monitor any pain you have. If the pain doesn't get better and you see that your gums are swelling or becoming red, head back to the denturist to discuss having them refitted.

Speak to Yourself

You might not think very much about how new dentures can affect your speech patterns and the way your speaking voice sounds. You may discover that certain consonant sounds are harder to make or that your mouth feels differently when you're talking. For that reason, when you first put the dentures into your mouth, spend some time that day speaking to yourself and reading things out loud to get a feel for how you sound.

You might find that your dentures slide a bit when you first start speaking, and there are a couple of ways to deal with that. Denture adhesive gel can keep them in place, but you can also bite down, pressing the dentures into place, before you begin to talk.

Eat Very Soft Foods

One perk of having dentures is that you can devour foods you had to avoid for years. However, on your first day of wearing dentures, those foods might still have to wait. Because your gums are likely already sore, chomping down on tough foods can mean even more discomfort. Ease into eating with softer foods like yogurt and eggs. Over time, you can experiment with other foods.

Use Denture Cleaning Gel Only

By the end of your first day wearing dentures, you may be eager to take a break and take them out of your mouth. Before soaking them, you might want to clean them and use toothpaste for that purpose. Avoid doing that. Toothpaste can stain or cause discoloring on the gum portion of your dentures. In addition, any abrasives that your toothpaste contains might scratch the dentures, especially if you make a habit of using toothpaste every night. Instead, have some denture cleaning gel on hand for cleaning.

When you're able to incorporate the tips above into your first day and all the days that follow, your new set of dentures can be a great addition to your life. Consult your denturist if you have any problems or questions.

For more information, contact R. Troup Davis, DDS or a similar dental professional.