Dentures can give people who have lost their teeth a brand-new lease on life. They can change the way you eat, the way you laugh, and how often you can share smiles with the people you love.
However, some people worry that their dentures will also affect the way that they talk, and not for the better. If you’re getting dentures soon, it’s worth learning a little bit about what it’s like to talk while wearing them. If you’re in that situation, here’s a guide that might help.
Do Dentures Affect Speech?
While everyone’s experience is different, it’s common for people to have a little bit of trouble speaking when they first get their dentures. You’re used to how natural teeth feel, but a prosthetic is going to feel pretty different from that.
Your dentures could affect your speech in quite a few ways, depending on exactly how they fit your mouth. Some people find that the way that the teeth meet each other when they close their mouth feels a little unnatural, which can affect the ability to form sounds that require you to do that. These are usually “t” or “s” sounds, so people with new dentures sometimes report developing a lisp.
Other people aren’t used to speaking with teeth they can’t feel, so they may accidentally clack their teeth together. This can cause them to make clicking sounds as they speak.
Fixing Speech Problems that Arise from Dentures
Ultimately, these problems arise from not being quite used to speaking with your dentures. When you first get them, speak slowly and carefully until you’re comfortable with them. After 2-4 weeks of doing this, it’s common for the speech problems to go away.
It’s also possible that your dentures don’t quite fit you; the teeth could be too short, or too long. This can be a common cause of lisping. Your dentures might also not attach very well to your gums, which can cause them to fall out when you speak. If these speech problems seem to continue no matter what you try, you might ask your dentist if it’s necessary to adjust your prosthetic to fit you a little bit better.
About the Author
At Arts Family Dentistry of Dallas, we want to help every member of your family get their dream smile. We do this by offering a wide variety of services so that we can address as many of your family’s oral health issues as we can under one roof. We do this in a calm, comfortable environment that we pair with immaculate customer service.
If you have any questions about living with dentures, we can be reached at our website or by phone at (469) 981-1700.
