My neighbor can bite into an apple – why can’t I?

Not everyone with dentures is able to bite into an apple. It all depends on whether you have properly functioning dentures, ridges that adequately support your dentures, and a jaw relationship that permits you to perform the necessary movements.

In order to bite into an apple, you require secure dentures and denture teeth that are long enough to penetrate well into the apple. If you can bite into the apple, you must make certain that the force of your bite lines up with the length of the tooth; if you bite and pull outward, this torquing movement may eventually loosen or break one or more teeth. Although we can bite this way with our own natural teeth, it is not advisable to do so with dentures – they are simply not constructed to withstand such repeated pulling.

If you cannot bite into an apple, and many people can’t, you may find it necessary to cut from the apple and eat it in slices. Either way, you still have your apple!