So, you’ve recently started wearing dentures, or just recovered from dental surgery with a new set of partial, complete, or dental implants. But you’ve noticed a change in the way you speak and sound, and something as simple as talking has become difficult or awkward.
Don’t worry – this is completely normal and adapting to dentures takes time. It’s important to remember that you’re not alone either, as difficulties with speech are not uncommon with new dentures.
When it comes to speaking confidently with dentures, there are many helpful tips and techniques to practice at home or with friends and family members – so you will be able to “talk the talk” in no time.
Reading aloud
One of the ways towards speaking more confidently with dentures is reading aloud common words and phrases such as, “hello”, “how are you?” or “Thank you so much”. Repeating these, alongside elongating the enunciation of certain words will help to create a steady flow of speech when your communicating with dentures.
If you want to really challenge your vocal range, then take lines or quotes from some of your favourite books, plays or movies, where words are more likely to contain “s” and “f” sounds which are more difficult to pronounce.
Speak slowly
We all take for granted the ability to speak at a regular pace in our daily lives – even if we don’t realise how fast we’re talking.
As the muscles in your mouth need to get accustomed to the newly fitted dentures, they may attempt to kick them out of place at first, particularly if you are wearing removeable dentures.
Speak slowly to prevent your dentures from shifting and reduce unwanted clicking sounds. Another tip is to take a deep breath, bite down and swallow before you talk to give you time to relax and help restore your confidence.
Hear yourself
Initially, the way you sound and how others hear you may have changed too. New dentures amplify the vibrations in your skull whilst the sound of your voice travels. As a result, you may think that your voice has become louder, but there’s no need to be feel embarrassed as this is not very noticeable by others.
To observe areas of progression and improvement, get in the habit of recording yourself once each week and see how eloquent and fluent you are in just a few weeks!
Practice makes perfect and if you’re struggling to adjust and want to speak confidently with dentures, then talk to us at one of our Smiles & More denture clinics in Warrington, Widnes or Chester, where we offer expert advice and additional information for you to keep on smiling and talking.