Dentures, for those who wear them, are more than a smile replacement—they’re a lifeline. While they offer benefits, including improved speech and aesthetics, their most important function is restoring chewing ability. Without these wonderful prosthetics, many patients simply wouldn’t be able to live well and eat quality food.
Still, dentures have limits and can affect the choices you make when dining. If you’re wondering just how dentures affect your nutritional options, continue reading!
The Challenges of Eating with Dentures
To understand how dentures can affect what you eat, it’s important to understand what they struggle with. Adapting to dentures can be challenging at first, especially when it comes to eating certain foods. Initially, you may experience discomfort or difficulty chewing as your mouth adjusts to your new prosthetic. Even after you become a denture expert, foods that are particularly hard, sticky, or tough to chew can be difficult to eat.
How Dentures Affect Food Choices
Because of these limitations, some patients may find themselves avoiding foods that are difficult to chew or cause discomfort. This can include steak, nuts, some types of bread, raw fruits and vegetables, and even peanut butter. Because people tend to drift to the path of least resistance, avoiding these foods can lead to a dietary shift. While this may seem like a minor adjustment, it can have a negative effect on overall nutrition and dietary diversity.
How to Maintain a Balanced Diet
Many foods have substitutes that can give sufficient macro nutrients like switching meat for beans for protein. However, there are considerations to be made when it comes to keeping your body healthy and functioning. This is especially true as you begin to age. Fiber, vitamins, minerals, proteins, carbs, and fats are all important to understand and plan into your diet.
For harder to eat foods, try preparing them differently so your dentures can handle them. For example, steaming raw vegetables will soften them while maintaining most of their fiber content.
So, while dentures can be challenging to eat with at times, they should not prevent you from enjoying a nutritious and varied diet. By making mindful food choices and seeking guidance from your dentist and other health professionals, you can keep your body well-nourished and your smile healthy!
About the Practice
If you need help with your dentures, you’ll find experts at Auburn Dental Smiles with the skills to restore your smile. For over a decade, they’ve provided beautiful and functional dentures to their patients. Their talented team uses advanced diagnostic and treatment technology to provide every patient with a customized plan to fit their needs. Call (253) 833-2290 to schedule a denture consultation or visit the website to see a full menu of services they provide.
