Dentures can be extremely helpful for your aging adult, but they can also be difficult to get used to at first. Try some of these suggestions to make the situation a little easier.
Make Sure They’re Fitted Properly
Dentures that aren’t properly fitted can rub your senior’s gums and create sore spots. They can also slide around and cause your senior to damage her cheeks or the dentures themselves. At first, the dentures might fit well, but swelling and other discomfort from any surgery could fade, creating a new surface for the dentures to rest again. Your elderly family member may need several fittings to get to the right contours on her dentures.
Pay Attention to Food and Drink Temperatures
Teeth are alive, but dentures aren’t. So when your senior eats or drinks exceptionally hot or cold foods, she might not be as prepared for that as she was when she had her own teeth. Pay particular attention to food and drink temperatures, especially when your elderly family member first gets her dentures.
Stick with Softer Foods at First
Soon after getting her dentures, your senior’s mouth and gums are still healing. Applying too much pressure to the gums, particularly from harder foods, is going to make the situation more painful. At first, stick with softer foods that are easier to eat and that gives your senior’s mouth time to heal.
Cut Food Smaller than Usual
Keeping food in smaller pieces than usual can also help. That way your elderly family member can get accustomed to what chewing feels like now that she has dentures without chewing massive bites of food. Be sure to let elderly care providers and other people who help your aging family member with meal preparation know that this helps.
Encourage Her to Chew Slowly with Her Full Mouth
Learning to chew in a slightly different way can help your senior to make sure that she’s applying even, consistent pressure to the dentures. This helps to reduce discomfort. Before her dentures, your elderly family member might have chewed mostly on one side or the other, but now she needs to chew slowly and on both sides of her mouth.
Make sure that you mention any sore spots to your senior’s dentist so that she can check the dentures and make sure the fit is still correct.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Elderly Care Services in Pittsburgh PA, please call and talk to the caring staff at Extended Family Care of Pittsburgh at (412) 693-6009. We will answer all of your questions.
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