If you have just started wearing dentures, it can be difficult to transition back to your normal diet. While you will undoubtedly find it easier to consume yogurt, broth, boiled vegetables, and other soft foods in the first week or two after getting your dentures, you will soon be ready to begin experimenting with more solid foods. Here are some foods that you should eat carefully and in moderation no matter how long you have had your dentures.

Caffeinated Beverages

While dark beverages like coffee, tea, and cola can stain dentures just like normal teeth, they pose an additional concern for denture wearers. Consuming too much caffeine can have a dehydrating effect and can lead to dry mouth. When you are still getting used to the fit and feel of your dentures, you may find that they cause slight pain or irritation in the roof or sides of your mouth, especially if your dentures are not fitted well.

Irritation from dentures can lead to complications if you are suffering from excessive dry mouth. A condition known as denture-induced stomatitis can occur when yeast buildup causes the irritated spots in your mouth to become inflamed. Small, red sores on the roof of the mouth are a common symptom of this condition. Limit your caffeine intake to two to three cups of coffee per day to prevent dry mouth and lower your risk of denture-induced stomatitis.

Raw Fruits and Vegetables

Eating hard foods can cause several denture defects, from chipped denture teeth to incisor displacement, where the front denture teeth jut outward at an uncomfortable angle. Most denture wearers know that hard candies should be avoided for this reason, but certain crunchy and uncooked vegetables can also cause the same problem.

Corn on the cob and unpeeled apples and pears are foods that require considerable force to bite into. In addition to being more breakable than natural teeth, dentures are also not as sharp. Because of this, dentures will often slide along the surface of raw fruit instead of biting into it, causing them to break due to the excess pressure. To protect your dentures, always slice any raw fruit that you eat, remove corn from the cob, and consider cooking crispy vegetables like carrots before eating them.

Steak

Steak can be hard on your teeth no matter how you cook it. If you like your meat well done, it will likely be too tough for your dentures to bite into without the risk of damage. If you like your meat on the rarer side, it will often be chewier, and excessive chewing can cause denture sores in your mouth even if it does not damage the dentures themselves.

Many denture wearers get around this problem by cutting their steak into smaller, more manageable bites. The smaller the bites of tough meat are, the less likely they are to cause damage. And if you are eating chewy meat, you can take breaks in between bites to prevent soreness from the dentures. Fortunately, denture wearers can almost always handle more tender meats like chicken, fish, or ground beef with no problem.

Peanut Butter

It may be surprising that a soft food like peanut butter can potentially cause problems for your dentures. Rather than hardness, the stickiness of peanut butter is the main obstacle for denture wearers. Peanut butter can easily stick to your dentures and hang around long after you have finished your meal. This can make them much more difficult to clean, or even pull them out of place in the worst case.

Adjusting to new dentures will always take time, but they are not that much more difficult to take care of than natural teeth once you are used to them. You can also take comfort in the fact that there are virtually no foods that denture wearers can't eat with a little bit of preparation or moderation.