As a dentures wearer, it is important to avoid gummy or sticky foods like raisins, peanut butter, marshmallow treats, caramel, and taffy. These food tend to stick to the lower and upper molars of the teeth. The consequent and undesirable effect of this is the displacement of your dentures. You don’t want that, do you? Below, we have explained 5 foods you shouldn’t eat and why you shouldn’t eat them while wearing your dentures.
- Any kind of nut-type butter
It is best to avoid any form of nut butter, whether from almonds, peanut, etc. This is because you’ll find yourself constantly trying to get the remains off the root of your mouth, in addition to your dentures slipping off. Our denturist recommends that you resort to other kinds of spreads like pate or hummus tapenades.
- Any food that is hard to chew
It is pertinent to expound that chewing with dentures requires using both sides of the mouth at the same time. Hence, you should be aware that digging into raw vegetables or biting into a steak can dislodge and destabilise your dentures. You should therefore not eat any hard food that will cause additional pressure on your dentures. Otherwise, you stand the risk of developing sore spots.
However, we recommend that you cut any hard-to-chew foods into smaller bite-sized pieces. You get to enjoy your meal this way. You don’t have to cancel out veggies (such as carrots) or raw fruits (like pear). All you have to do is blend them into your special smoothie treat.
- Nuts and seeds
Alright, we know how essential nuts are in nutrition and diet. Regardless, we advise denture wearers to be careful with these foods. For one, you can get some little end bits stuck in between your gums and dentures. Also, keep in mind that nuts require a one-sided chewing action when biting down in your mouth. This, therefore, becomes a problem since wearing dentures requires that you chew with a balanced action, i.e., biting down on both sides of the mouth. By implication, excessive pressure on one side of the mouth can cause the denture on the other side to be displaced.
This is why it’s strongly recommend that you steer clear of nuts when served as a snack. We also advise that you consider seedless types of bread like rye or whole wheat.
- Sticky candy
Our Corrimal dentist advises against the consumption of candies, peanut brittle, and toffee. As a denture wearer, eating candy is a guaranteed way to get your dentures displaced. This is why we frown against it.
We understand that you can have some cravings for a sweet. You can always try some sugar-free gum, especially because it serves a dual purpose in increasing your saliva production. Saliva serves as a lubricant for dentures. It prevents friction and irritation to the gums.
- Coffee and Tea
First of all, excessive caffeine is not good for health. Moreover, coffee and tea are sure to stain your dentures just as they would with your natural teeth. Also, caffeine has a dehydrating effect that causes ‘dry mouth’. This is bad for denture wearers since they have to be conscious about keeping a moist mouth. However, if you must take any source of caffeine, then ensure you balance it out by taking lots of fluid that will boost the flow of saliva in your mouth.
In all, do not forget that the most important thing you need when getting used to new dentures is perseverance, patience, and practice. At Illawarra dental clinic, we believe that oral health should not be jeopardised for any reason. Contact us today for more information.