How to Speak with Dentures

If you a’re new to dentures and denture adhesive, you might wonder why something as simple as speaking seems so difficult and awkward. You also might be concerned that changes in your voice and speech will make your dentures more noticeable to others. 

Adjusting to dentures means that, in time and with some practice, you will be able to speak clearly. At first your voice may sound odd because the sound reaches your ears through vibrations in the bones of the jaw and skull. Wearing dentures changes and increases the sound, but only you will notice this.  

• Bite and swallow before speaking to get your dentures in position. To avoid any slips, try  a denture adhesive cream like Fixodent®.

• Practice reading aloud with your dentures in to get used to saying common words and to give you an idea of how fast you can speak with ease. 

• Once you feel more confident with the above step, you can read aloud in front of a mirror.

• Practice speaking in a normal volume. You may feel a little eccentric talking to yourself, but you’ll get used to speaking with dentures the more you do it. Or you can just talk to your partner, family members, or trusted kids.

• Count from 60 to 90 can help you practice more difficult-to-pronounce sounds.  

Our solutions to your common concerns below will help you on your way to speaking confidently with your dentures. 

1. Why are my dentures clicking when I talk?  Speak more slowly if you feel your dentures “click.” At first, the muscles in your lips, cheeks, and tongue will try to “kick out” your dentures, but in time they will adjust to them and help keep them in place. 

2. Why am I having trouble pronouncing my S's and F's?  It takes time for your muscles to adapt to dentures, so practice speaking words that you have difficulty enunciating. Your pronunciation will improve over time as it becomes more natural for the muscles in your mouth.  

3. Do I sound different to my friends?  At first, you may find pronouncing certain words requires practice, but reading out loud and repeating troublesome words helps. Dentures seldom interfere with speech, but you might feel like others are looking for a speech defect.  

With your dentures, you’ll have to adjust to a new situation, but with a little practice and thanks to the strong hold of Fixodent®, you’ll soon have the power to speak with confidence. That’s definitely something to talk about!