Partial dentures are one of the most popular and affordable ways to replace missing teeth. When someone loses a tooth due to an infection or injury, they start hiding their smile or talking to others so that no one notices their missing teeth. It may cause not only oral health problems but also affects the person’s self-esteem and self-confidence. Partial dentures help regain confidence by restoring the smile. However, eating can be challenging with partial dentures. In this blog, we will discuss what to eat and what to avoid while using partial dentures.
Advice for easier eating with partial dentures
The best way to begin eating with partial dentures is to eat easy-to-chew soft foods. Ask your dentist about the nutritious foods that require minimal chewing. The dentist may recommend you prefer food items such as yogurt, scrambled eggs, cooked cereals, soups etc. As days progress, you can further consider eating well-steamed vegetables, baked fish, soft fruits, etc., which are easy to chew and swallow. Try to cut the food into smaller bites so that it will help you to eat tough-to-eat foods.
What foods are best to avoid?
Since you have to cope with partial dentures, some food items are best to avoid. The food on the list is considered difficult to chew with partial dentures.
Food that is hard and sticky
It is better to avoid gummy candies, peanut butter and white loaf bread since these are hard and sticky. There is always a possibility of the denture slipping when chewing. So when the dentures slip, these food particles can get stuck under the partial. If ignored, it could lead to sore spots on the gums that often occurs if the clasps are loose.
Avoid tough cuts of meat such as steak
Steak can be considered one of the most difficult types of meat to chew. Eating steak with artificial teeth is more challenging than eating with natural teeth. The prosthetic teeth only mash the meat instead of cutting it. Swallowing food without chewing can lead to digestion problems and improper nutrition.
Gum chewing
Chewing the gum using artificial teeth is almost impossible, and the chewing gum is most likely going to be wrapped around the clasps and under the partial. Hence avoid gum chewing while using partial dentures.
Seeds and nuts
Seeds topped with bread and berries, followed by nuts, are sure to get under the partial dentures. It can thus cause soreness in the gums. Popcorn should also be avoided since it can get lodged between the artificial teeth or under the partial denture.
Foods that must first be a bit off and chewed
If your front teeth have been replaced with partial dentures, biting on fruits such as apples could be a challenging experience. It would be best if you tried to have smaller bites than usual bites. The best way is to cut the fruit into smaller pieces before eating them.
Supple foods
It would be best if you never attempted to eat caramel and taffy since these sticky foods can easily dislodge the partial dentures, which could further damage the gums. Hence remove the partial dentures before eating such sticky foods.
Summary
Accepting that you won’t be able to eat all types of foods with partial dentures is desirable. It would be best if you understood the limitations and should learn to eat with partial dentures. It is good to understand what food to eat and what to avoid. Ask your dentist, who can describe in detail the type of food suitable for partial dentures.