If you’ve been struggling with moderate to severe tooth loss, dentures can be the reliable and cost-effective solution for restoring your smile. While getting accustomed to your new teeth, you might notice that some daily oral tasks feel different, like speaking. It can take some time to adjust to your restorations before you can converse naturally again. Read on to learn a few tips on how to make talking with dentures a smoother process!
How Will Dentures Affect My Speech?
Although dentures are constructed to appear like natural teeth, your tongue will recognize that they aren’t your permanent pearly whites. Your restorations won’t be directly rooted to your jawbone, so different muscles will need to work to help secure your new smile. Furthermore, your mouth is sensitive enough to notice the presence of a new oral appliance, so it’ll need time to adjust. Your dentures may sometimes shift out of place when you speak, and it can especially feel more difficult to make certain sounds, such as ‘s’ or ‘v’. The good news is that there are various ways to overcome these obstacles.
3 Tips for Speaking Clearly with Dentures
If you’re having issues speaking with your dentures, you can typically use denture adhesive for extra support. However, this should only be used sparingly, as your mouth can get used to talking fluently with your restorations unassisted. Here are several tips to help make your adjustment process go as easily as possible:
- Pronounce difficult words and sounds repeatedly: Though it might be tempting to avoid using words that are difficult to say with dentures, it’s better to continue practicing them. This may seem frustrating at first, but constant repetition will help you improve much more over time.
- Read aloud to yourself: After becoming more comfortable with your pronunciations, you should begin practicing speaking in sentences. Simply read a book or magazine aloud to yourself (or sing in the shower!). This will allow you to hear how you sound as well as get your tongue and mouth muscles accustomed to your dentures when talking.
- Converse with loved ones: Speaking with people you trust is a great way to practice the flow of conversation with your dentures on. Try talking with family and friends to help you build your confidence in your speech. They may even be willing to help you practice and identify words or phrases you might be struggling with.
With these few tips and plenty of practice, you should be able to speak with your dentures in no time. Consult your dentist if you’re still having difficulties, and they’ll be glad to make any necessary adjustments or provide other solutions to help you!
About the Author
Dr. Andrew Aziz received his dental doctorate from the University of Maryland School of Dentistry. He also routinely seeks continuing education to expand his expertise and skills. He provides numerous high-quality treatments, including dentures. If you’d like to know more about talking with dentures, visit his website or call 301-698-9552.