Tips for Speaking Confidently With Dentures

Whether you’re chatting with friends over coffee at The Ditch Café in Oliver or joining in on a game of cards at Penticton Seniors’ Drop-In Centre, dentures are an ideal way to brighten your smile and boost your self esteem. But if you’re new to wearing dentures, it can be an adjustment to learn to speak clearly and confidently. At Community Denture Centre, we understand the unique challenges of new dentures.

Here are our pro tips for speaking confidently!

To help secure your dentures and prevent them from shifting as you speak, bite down softly and swallow any saliva. This will create a bit of suction and also help bond any denture adhesive or soft liners you’re using to your gums. A secure fit will give you confidence to articulate words and phrases—and to smile as you speak.

To help prepare for speaking in front of others, try practicing at home first. A great way to practice is to read sections of your favourite books and magazines aloud. This will help you to adjust to how your complete or partial dentures feel in your mouth, as well as how your tongue moves as you say different words and phrases.

As you practice speaking with partial or complete dentures, trying watching yourself in the mirror. Seeing how you look as you speak can help you make small adjustments to make your mouth movements appear and feel more natural. Keep up with a regular practice regimen, such as 10 minutes each day, to see gradual but consistent improvement.

Certain sounds can be more difficult to say with dentures. Typically, “F”, “S”, and “T” sounds take a bit of extra practice to come out clearly and naturally. Practicing words and phrases in poems and riddles is a fun way to train yourself to speak with your complete dentures. Try “She sells seashells by the seashore” or other favourite sayings.