Receiving your new set of full or partial dentures can be an exciting time. Your smile will be restored, and you will be able to eat with confidence. But what about speaking? Your new dentures can affect your speech, although this is a small problem and can be easily overcome if you know what to expect. So what are some of the ways that dentures can affect your speech?
Volume
When you hear your own voice, it is considered to be a bone-conducting sound. Your voice causes tiny bone vibrations in your mouth that go straight to your cochlea—a cavity in your inner ear that converts sound vibrations into what you actually hear. Dentures slightly alter these tiny bone vibrations, which makes it sound like you are speaking far more loudly than you used to. This is only heard by you, and as far as anyone else is considered, you are speaking at the same volume as you were prior to receiving dentures. This means you certainly don't need to decrease the volume of your speech. You will quickly become accustomed to this new volume and will consider it to be normal.
Weight
It might feel like talking takes slightly more effort than it did prior to getting dentures—at first, anyway. There is some truth to this, and your jaw muscles must simply get used to carrying the extra weight of the dentures, however miniscule it might be. This is something that you will quickly get used to as your jaw muscles retrain themselves.
Speech
Your speech might sound slightly distorted in the days immediately after your dentures have been fitted—as though your words are somewhat slurred. You will quickly become used to speaking with the minimal extra weight of the dentures, and you'll also become used to the physical presence of the dentures in your mouth. Retraining your jaw muscles is as simple as practising speaking as much as possible. If you're slightly embarrassed during this transitional phase, you can perhaps try reading aloud or speaking to pets. Your jaw muscles will retrain themselves before you know it.
Slippage
Some denture slippage is normal, and they might occasionally shift while speaking. If this happens often enough to become an annoyance, you should simply use a small amount of denture adhesive. Your dentist can suggest which brand of adhesive is best for you. If your dentures become loose with even a small amount of conversation (or with eating), you should see your dentist. The dentures might need to be resized, as it's possible that they're slightly too small.
You will be surprised at just how quickly your speech patterns can return to a feeling of normality after you receive dentures. It will happen even more quickly if you know what to expect and speak with your dentist about any concerns.
Share21 January 2016
Miranda Raff here. My brother is a stressed-out dental student, so I'm starting this blog on his behalf. I work in a travel agency and my brother is mortified by the number of dental tourism stories I bring home. I book short holidays for people who seem as though they are going to enjoy some relaxation in an exotic country, only to learn that they plan to have cheap dental procedures. Whilst there are good dentists in developing countries, according to my brother, the complex procedures these people plan to have simply can't be finished in such a limited time. This blog is an attempt to inform you about the high skill levels and advanced technology found in Australian dental surgeries. New techniques are being developed every year and Australian dentists are at the forefront of offering these solutions. I really hope this blog helps you to appreciate our dentists.
