Hi Everyone:

I am truly amazed that I actually found a board to help me with these blankety, blank dentures... I have been undergoing the process of having upper dentures and a partial on the bottom for the past couple of months now. Three or four pulled every couple of weeks or so until the final procedure on Thursday, 7/31. Had the front 6 removed and the dentures and partial placed directly. With the help of pain pills, I have had little pain, soreness though, but my main concern is I can't talk. I lost my job of 13 years on July 7th and I went on a job interview this morning and I had a hard time talking. I sounded like I had my tongue pierced, I lisp, slur and can't pronounce certain words. Cant chew either, how long does this last, I am soooooooo depressed, help. Thanks

http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/wave.gifHi Martin,

You said it all in just a couple of blankety blanks http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/biggrin.gif Now might be a good time to take short vacation from looking for a new job though. If you do keep looking for a job, look on the bright side, you can smile to your hearts content http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

The first week with dentures is the worst. They feel big, clumsy and awkward inside your mouth which makes it difficult to eat and speak. You have to be patient and give your mouth time to adjust. Your mouth has suffered quite a bit of trauma from the extractions and needs time to heel as well. Be patient and give yourself time to heal properly because you won't get a second chance.

Both eating a speaking with dentures takes practice. With eating start with soft food and take small pieces. If the food needs to be chewed, chew evenly on both sides of your mouth. Doing that will help prevent the denture from tipping. I wouldn't advise trying anything too adventurous for a week or so http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif The best way to get your speaking ability back is to practice too. Read aloud or recite the alphabet out loud so you learn how to pronounce all of the letters. It takes time and patience. Your tongue and other parts of your mouth need time to learn where the denture is and adapt to the space that it takes.

You've only had your dentures for less than a week. Now, and probably for another week or two, eating and speaking will give you trouble. Your mouth is changing very quickly at this point. Your gums are both healing and shrinking (also called resorbing) so the dentures won't fit very well or for long if they fit fine now. Sometime soon your dentist will give you a soft reline which will make the denture fit much better. That will make eating and talking much easier. It seems that on average most new denture wearers get their first soft reline between 2 and 4 weeks after getting their dentures. In the meantime, if your dentures are really loose, you can use adhesives which might help. If you do use them try to keep it out of the extraction areas. Some adhesives are difficult to get off the gums and the last thing you want to do at this stage is to aggrevate the healing gums.

The next couple weeks are going to be trying. Try to maintain a positive attitude. A sense of humor helps too. Right now you may be cursing those dentures but I guarantee that in a few weeks you'll think they are the best thing to happen to you in a long long time. In the meantime, if you have any questions or just need to vent, keep posting to this thread you've started. There are a few people here in various stages of learning to adapt to dentures and have "been there, done that" to help you. Hang in there. It keeps getting better. Good luck!

Yos

THANKS!!!!!

Patience has never been a virtue of mine and I want it all NOW....You're right tho, I guess I haven't given it enough time. After I posted, I went through all the posts and fine posts JUST like mine....and the answers that went with them...

I don't feel achy or a lot of pain, so I guess I am fortunate than a lot. Again thanks for the advice.