Talking With Partial Dentures

Video Transcript

"I'm Dr. Joe Neely, and I practice with the Barton Oaks Dental Group. We're going to talk about getting used to talking, in a partial denture. Anytime there's a foreign substance in your mouth, especially something that is as big and cumbersome as a denture, or partial denture. The tongue immediately notices it, and is very clumsy in it's normal function, which affects your speech, and then your confidence in that speech declines, and it makes it even more difficult. So the key to getting used to talking with a partial denture, is first to make sure the partial denture fits, to where it's comfortable. Where there's not pain involved or the partial is not loose and slipping around. Once it's fitted correctly, the key is to simply read out loud, for as much as fifteen minutes at a time. Typically, three to five minutes, several times a day, suffices. It's the repetitive use of the tongue, to make sounds that gets you used to. The tongue is very, very adaptable. Most people can't think of enough things to say to keep on talking, for three to five minutes, and so reading out loud is the secret."