Dentures are an excellent solution for replacing lost permanent teeth, but even though they restore the look and feel of your smile, there are still a few foods you should avoid when you wear them. That’s because unlike implant dentures or your natural teeth, dentures cannot always hold up to the rigors of chewing certain foods, especially as you’re getting used to wearing them.
Here are a few things you shouldn’t eat with your dentures when you first get them, and a few that you should skip no matter how long you’ve had them.
Adjusting to New Dentures
Congratulations on your new dentures! You’re probably eager to start using them to enjoy a wide variety of delicious foods. But not so fast! You’ll need to take it slow when you first get your prosthetics, to both allow your mouth time to heal and to master chewing with them in your mouth. Thus, your dentist recommends you avoid the following foods for at least the first few months:
- Nuts and seeds
- Popcorn
- Steak
- Sticky candies like taffy, caramels, and gummies
- Excessive caffeine
While you can gradually add the above foods into your diet again as you master eating with your dentures, be sure that when you do to take small bites and chew slowly. Furthermore, it is important that you avoid the following foods altogether. This is because they can easily damage your prosthetics. Broken crowns can create dangerous sharp edges and render them ineffective. This can result in the need for costly repairs or even total replacement. Thus, be sure to always avoid:
- Crunching ice cubes
- Crunching hard candy
- Chewing on or using your teeth on anything inedible, such as fingernails, packaging, or pen caps
Denture Safe Foods
While there are a few foods that denture wearers should avoid, there are plenty that are safe to enjoy. These include:
- Mashed or pureed vegetables
- Cooked vegetables
- Applesauce
- Broth
- Juice
- Yogurt
- Hot cereals like oatmeal or cream of wheat
- Slow cooked / ground meat
- Hummus
- Ripe fruits
- Cakes
- Soft chocolates
- Ice cream / frozen yogurt / sorbet / gelato
- Fruit smoothies
Remember, while you should still be able to enjoy a wider diet than you would before restoring your teeth, you still need to avoid certain foods with your new dentures. If you are interested in expanding your dietary options, speak to your dentist today about whether you qualify for implant dentures, which can replace multiple teeth with just a few permanent dental implant posts and stay in place much more securely than traditional dentures. Best of all, because they are more stable, you can eat an even larger variety of delicious foods than you can with their predecessors!
About Our Practice
At Premier Dental Care, our skilled, caring team of dentists is proud to offer Herndon patients a solution to lost or damaged teeth. Restoring your smile with the help of dentures can greatly expand your diet and allow you to eat many of the delicious foods you used to enjoy before you had oral health problems.
If you are interested in learning more about the many ways a new pair of dentures or implant dentures can help you, please schedule a consultation with Dr Bakhtyari or Dr. Refahi today by visiting our website or calling us at 703-860-8860.
