Important Information About
Your New Complete Dentures

We have provided you with well-fitted, functional, and aesthetically pleasing partial dentures. We feel confident that after a few weeks of adjustments, you will enjoy years of satisfaction and use. In the meantime, the following is important information.

1. Your First Few Weeks: New dentures always feel strange when first placed in your mouth. Several weeks will be required for you to become accustomed to them.

2. Sore Spots: Your mouth will most likely have a few sore spots about 24 hours after you first put your new partial dentures in.

3. Chewing: The new "bite" or occlusion will not feel comfortable for a period of days. We will adjust the contacting surfaces of your teeth.

4. Upper vs. Lower Dentures: Your upper denture will rest comfortably in place with moderate-to-strong "suction." Although your lower denture will have good stability, it is infrequent that "suction" can be expected on a lower denture. We suggest that you avoid denture adhesives unless you have extreme difficulty.

5. Cleaning the Dentures and Your Mouth: Your dentures can be cleaned easily by using a denture brush and toothpaste. Denture soaks are also useful for the denture. Brush your gums with a regular toothbrush once per day to toughen and clean them. Better Image Dentistry recommends that you leave your dentures out of your mouth at night. When they are out of your mouth, leave them soaking in a water and mouthwash solution.

6. The Future: Your jaw bones and gums shrink up to 1/32 of an inch per year when your teeth are missing. This is one of the main disadvantages of dentures. Because of this shrinkage, you should plan to have your dentures and oral tissues evaluated by us at least every six (6) months. We will inform you when relining or rebasing of the dentures is necessary. Wearing ill-fitting dentures for too long without refitting can cause severe bone loss and very serious oral disease. Even dentures that "fit" comfortably need to be checked along with an oral cancer exam.

We look forward to helping you adjust to and enjoy your new dentures!