Are you planning to schedule a visit to your dentist for a tooth extraction? Are you wondering about how you can cope with the changes that come with immediate dentures?
Immediate dentures serve as temporary dentures that you will wear for about two to three months until your permanent dentures are good to go. Unfortunately, not everyone handles the challenges of wearing dentures the same way.
Some take longer than others to adjust to the changes.
But as the pandemic should not hinder excellent dental care, spending the rest of your life wearing dentures should likewise not disrupt the way you live your life. But if your work or lifestyle requires you to wear immediate dentures, then you need to know what to expect.
You need to learn how to adapt accordingly.
Continue reading below as we give you a lowdown on immediate dentures.
Immediate Dentures: Key Benefits
What are immediate dentures? As we mentioned earlier, they serve as placeholders until your permanent dentures arrive. Generally, you will wear these dentures for about two to three months.
Losing teeth is inevitable. And by the time people reach the age of 50, they are likely missing an average of 12 teeth. Thus, your dentist may advise you to wear immediate dentures after the extraction to boost your confidence a bit.
Immediate dentures can help give you the confidence to meet people. It means you don’t need to keep that smile in front of others.
Also, your dentist may advise you to wear one to stop the bleeding after the extraction. Moreover, it can help ease the swelling.
Best of all, these dentures can help maintain the contour of the soft tissues in your face. This means you will retain the normal look as if you didn’t lose any of your teeth.
What to Expect During the Procedure
Now, we discuss the expectations surrounding immediate dentures. The expectations begin a month or two before the date of the extraction. First, your dentist will take different impressions of your mouth.
This process will take about four to five sessions to complete. This step is crucial to ensure that the dentures will fit you perfectly.
On the day of the extraction, the dentist will immediately insert the dentures. To keep discomfort at bay, expect your dentist to give you anesthesia. This should cover the extraction and installation of the dentures.
As you go home after the procedure, the dentures will begin to work as a bandage. They will hold together the tissues where the extracted teeth came from. In turn, they will secure and protect the tissues as they heal.
Always remember that you shouldn’t remove your dentures within the first 24 hours. This is critical in managing the pain and the bleeding.
Since there will be swelling after the procedure, reduce it by holding an ice pack against your jaw. Apply the cold compress for 15 minutes then remove for another 15 minutes.
Repeat the process a second time.
After the first day, you can remove the dentures four to five times daily. Rinse your mouth using warm water and salt. Do this for the first week to help expedite the healing.
And when going to bed, keep your immediate dentures on.
Adjusting to Pain and Shrinking Gums
The day after the procedure will be the first day of your adjustments, particularly to pain. With the anesthesia wearing off, you will begin to feel some soreness and discomfort.
But don’t worry as these sore spots are normal and part of the healing process. Also, you may experience some bone chips on your gums. They will appear and disappear as your gums continue to adapt to the dentures.
In some cases, the bone chips may become too uncomfortable. In such cases, your dentist may remove those bone chips to help ease the pain and discomfort.
Another important adjustment you will go through involves the shrinking of your gums. Again, this is natural and is part of the healing process. However, when your gums shrink, your immediate dentures will start to loosen.
To address this, your dentist may give you temporary liners. These liners work by tightening your dentures as your wounds continue to heal.
Normally, the gums will heal completely only after about a year. This means your dentures will become loose from time to time within the year.
But don’t worry, as your dentist can also recommend the best denture adhesive products to keep them in place.
Additionally, you need to increase your Vitamin C intake, especially during the first two weeks. Vitamin C will help your wounds heal faster.
Avoid drinking or smoking too.
The Eating Conundrum
And then there is the challenge of eating normally. Keep in mind that adapting to this particular challenge is not an overnight thing. It will take a lot of practice and several weeks before you can start enjoying the pleasure of eating.
During the first week of wearing your dentures, go for softer food. Focus on eating soups that come with meat that you will chop into smaller pieces.
Also, take your sweet time when you eat. Do your best to avoid biting off your food. Avoid eating hard foods like your favorite nuts and seeds.
And when you chew, try chewing with both sides of your mouth. Do this chewing motion on both sides at the same time.
Another challenge you will likely encounter is you will salivate a lot. This is because your body will try to compensate for the challenge of chewing your food. But don’t fret as this excessive salivation will gradually decrease as you improve your chewing abilities.
When Speaking Becomes Tough
This is one of the biggest problems people with dentures have to go through. This becomes even bigger if your work requires you to talk to a lot of people.
There are many ways dentures can affect your speaking. The most common is having a lisp. This is because the dentures interfere with the dynamics of your mouth and tongue. Your tongue needs to find the correct place anew to create the right sounds for the words that you make.
Thus, practice is the key to regain your normal speech. Start by reading to yourself. Focus on some complex words.
And if ever the lisp doesn’t go away after several weeks, don’t hesitate to inform your dentist about it. He may consider adjusting the thickness of your immediate dentures.
Also, consider singing along to your favorite tunes. This will also help form tougher and longer words.
The Dental Chair Follow-Up
During your first check-up after the procedure, your dentist will examine the condition of the dentures. He will also look at the wounds and the condition of your gums. From there, he will make some key adjustments to help reduce the soreness.
Also, this is the time where he will schedule your first appointment for a temporary liner. This is roughly two months away from this first dental check-up.
By the time of your first temporary liner appointment, you will notice that your dentures are starting to become loose. Hence, this is the perfect time to reline and refit your immediate dentures to your gums.
Thereafter, your dentist will schedule a second reline appointment. This will be six months after the date of your teeth extraction.
As this day arrives, your dentist will again reline your dentures. He will again refit them to keep them in place. Moreover, he will schedule another appointment in line with the first year since your extraction date.
This will be the date of the preparations for your new and permanent set of dentures. By this time, your healing and gum shrinkage will come to a close. Your dentist can now take new impressions to prepare you for your permanent dentures.
Ideally, the dentist will take the impressions in the morning. From that point, you will not wear your immediate dentures until later in the afternoon. Your dentist will use this window to adjust your dentures.
Extending the Life of Your Dentures
Last but not least, you need to learn how to extend the life of your permanent dentures. The rule of thumb is to apply the same level of care and attention to your dentures as you would with your real teeth.
Thus, you need to brush your dentures two times a day. Focus on removing plaque that may accumulate between your dentures. Cleaning them twice a day will also keep foul odor at bay.
Furthermore, place your dentures in a bowl of water with a denture cleaning solution. Make sure to submerge them completely inside the bowl to keep them from drying out.
Rinse them with warm water before wearing them anew.
Discover More About Health and Wellness
By understanding the ins and outs of immediate dentures, you can regain your normal life and restore your old smile faster. But dental health is only one of the many aspects of health and beauty.
Discover more on how to become a healthier person through our different articles. And if you’re looking for some of the best products that will help you achieve your health and wellness goals, don’t hesitate to check out more of our guides so we can help you find them.
