Life is better with brand-new dentures in Palm Beach Gardens. These oral appliances are excellent at restoring smilesto patients who’ve lost their teeth due to injuries or illnesses. While artificial teeth are meant to help you with speaking, chewing, and other daily tasks, it takes some time to get used to wearing them. We’ve pulled together a few tips to help you adjust to your new smile faster.
How to Get Used to Eating With Your New Dentures
Start with Soft Foods at Home
Until you feel comfortable eating and drinking in public, you’ll want to learn how to chew without popping your new teeth out of place, scraping your gums, or biting your tongue. Eating soft foods, such as pudding and mashed potatoes, can help make this process easier for you. Unlike hard, crunchy, or chewy foods, soft foods won’t put the same amount of pressure on your gums. For this reason, maintaining a soft diet can help your tender gums heal and minimize discomfort.
Avoid Biting with Front Teeth
If you bite foods with your front teeth, your dentures will come unstuck in the back. Cut your food into bite-size pieces and bite down only with your side or back teeth.
Take Small Bites
Chewing requires you to move your jaw up and down and side to side. You’ll have to get accustomed to these motions while wearing new dentures. When you’re ready to move on to tougher foods, you’ll want to learn how to adjust the amount of pressure you use for chewing to avoid dislodging your dentures. Consequently, cutting food into smaller pieces helps you chew easily with your back teeth.
Steer Clear of Hard Foods
Biting down on hard, sticky, or crunchy foods will cause you to loosen your dentures as you chew. In addition, these foods can also chip or crack your new teeth. Do yourself a favor by kicking the habit of crunching ice or hard candies.
Need Help Adjusting to Your New Dentures in Palm Beach Gardens?
At Prestige Periodontics, we’ve built a practice that sets itself apart from the rest. Besides focusing on providing the highest standards of care, we use the most advanced technology in the industry. Contact us today to schedule your consultation.
Does your dental anxiety cause you to avoid the treatment you desperately need? Be glad to know that sedation dentistry in Palm Beach Gardens can help you relax while your dentist works on your teeth. We’re here to help you make an informed decision by debunking the persistent myths surrounding this treatment procedure.
Common Misconceptions About Sedation Dentistry
MISCONCEPTION #1: “Dentists use only one kind of sedation.”
Oral sedation refers to a sedative taken in pill form an hour before your procedure. You’ll feel calm and relaxed when you reach your dentist’s office. While the level of sedation depends on the dosage, its effects typically last for several hours. For this reason, it’s best to have a family member or friend drive you home after your appointment.
Nitrous oxide
This type of sedation is ideal for patients who have mild anxiety. It involves inhaling a colorless and odorless nitrous oxide gas, also known as laughing gas, through a mask placed over your face. Since this is a low-impact sedative, you can drive yourself home or get back to work right after your procedure.
IV sedation
This type of sedation works faster than other methods because the dentist administers the sedative directly to your bloodstream via a needle inserted into a vein. Moreover, they’ll monitor your vitals throughout your procedure and adjust the level of sedation as needed. Since its effects don’t wear off quickly, you’ll need someone to drive you home.
MISCONCEPTION #2: “Dental sedation is for everyone.”
Although most patients make good candidates for dental sedation, it’s not an option for someone pregnant before the second trimester, allergic to the sedative being used, or taking medication that shouldn’t mix with the sedative. Moreover, dentists don’t recommend sedation dentistry to patients with chronic bronchitis.
MISCONCEPTION #3: “Dental sedation is only for major surgical procedures.”
Dental sedation isn’t reserved for root canal treatment and periodontal work. Your dentist can use sedation dentistry such as nitrous oxide and oral sedation to help you sit comfortably in the dental chair through routine and basic procedures.
Considering Sedation Dentistry in Palm Beach Gardens?
At Prestige Periodontics, we offer various dental sedation options based on your needs. Contact us today to make an appointment.