Eating with Dentures

Eating with dentures can take twice as long as with natural teeth, so be prepared to take your time. If the teeth on your dentures are worn or dull, it may take even longer to adequately chew your food. It should be noted that the teeth on your dentures are usually set in such a way that when you move your jaw, the tooth cusps slide in and out among each other in order to provide you with chewing action. In other words, you chew your food, not just mash it.

When eating with dentures, remember to eat on both the right and left sides of your back teeth at the same time. This prevents your lower denture from tipping and creating a fulcrum effect.

No two denture wearers are alike, nor are their eating habits. The way you function with your dentures will be uniquely different from another person’s experience with dentures. Much depends on factors such as the shape and size of your ridges, your jaw relationship, and the vertical distance between your upper and lower arches. Learning to eat may take time, and you may not be able to eat everything another denture wearer can. Your own experience will be the indicator of your successes and limitations with dentures.