We expect that it takes a little bit of time to get used to talking with dentures, but if you’ve tried out our 5 techniques to get better at talking with dentures and it isn’t working, there may be something wrong with your dentures. Here are a few common problems people run into that can make a significant impact on speaking.
Problem 1: Poor Resonance
Your mouth is designed as a resonance chamber. The sounds made in your throat are shaped and refined by resonating in your mouth. If dentures don’t properly fit in your mouth, they can change the way sounds resonate, which changes the way your speech sounds.
By filling up too much of your mouth or creating separate chambers in your mouth, dentures can make it hard to make many of the sounds you take for granted when speaking on a daily basis.
Problem 2: Not Rugae’d Enough
The rugae are the ridges on the roof of your mouth. Cheap dentures don’t always reproduce these, and if they do, the forms aren’t very natural. As a result, you may have difficulty making sounds that require your tongue to use these rugae, such as “s,” “sh,” “n,” or “d.”
For some people, speech problems may persist until you get rugae that actually match the shape of your natural rugae.
Problem 3: Dentures Are Too Tall or Too Short
If your dentures are too tall or too short, it can be hard for your tongue to find the right position to make sounds. It can also be hard for your jaw to get accustomed to the new height. You may either not close your mouth properly or your teeth may contact accidentally, resulting in clicking sounds while you speak.
Problem 3: Dentures Are Loose
Another reason why your dentures might click is that they could be loose. Your jaw is in the right place, but your dentures slip out and strike one another.
Another problem with loose dentures is that your tongue might not be able to perform its role of holding dentures in and speaking at the same time. Most people can adapt to this easily, but sometimes it’s just too much to expect of your tongue.
If it is too much for your tongue to handle, you can get better results with either implant dentures, which are fully secure, or neuromuscular dentures, which fit better than traditional dentures.
If you are tired of having dentures that make it hard to talk, please call (803) 781-9090 for an appointment with a Columbia, SC denture dentist at Smile Columbia Dentistry.
