Learning How To Talk With Dentures? Speaking With Dentures Tips

Last Updated on November 8, 2023 by Jade

Are you about to get dentures? Chances are, you have concerns about how they will impact your speech. There is no doubt that dentures can change speech patterns.

You may experience slurring, lisping, and other alterations to the way you speak. But learning how to talk with dentures is not as daunting as you may think.

In this article, we will review how dentures may impact speech and cover methods to help improve your speaking with dentures.

First Things First – Will Dentures Impact Speech?

If you have never worn dentures before, it will feel unusual and somewhat uncomfortable to have plates of fake teeth in your mouth. At first, it is going to feel awkward whenever you speak, and some words will be a little more difficult to form your mouth around. You may find you have problems with ‘s’ or ‘f’ sounds and there may be a clicking sound from your dentures.

In addition to a clicking sound, your dentures may also move around slightly inside your mouth as you speak. It turns out that all of these are common problems that are easily remedied with practice and patience.

For some denture wearers, false teeth can actually improve their speech. Lisps and other speaking issues can develop as a result of missing teeth.

More On Slurred Speech, Lisps, and Clicking

When you are learning how to talk with dentures, slurred words, a lisp, or clicking may be an issue. This is because, when we talk through our mouths, both our tongue and lips are used to help us form the sounds into words. With dentures, access to these sounds is reduced.

For example, the tongue will not be able to completely form certain sounds with dentures in the same space. The lips will also have problems fitting sounds around the obstacle of dentures. This does not mean you will never be able to speak clearly again. Clicking sounds will come from your mouth attempting to form sounds into words with dentures in the way.

How To Remedy These Talking With Dentures Problems

It normally takes between 15 and 30 days for a denture wearer to get used to wearing false teeth. During this time, sore spots in the mouth will be reduced, salivation will decrease, and denture adhesive will make false teeth fit and feel more comfortable in the mouth. Over this time, you will have also figured out how to move your mouth and tongue to meet speech changes.

By getting used to how dentures feel and respond inside your mouth, you will be able to resolve most speech issues.

As for the clicking sound, this may take a bit more practice. Since dentures do not contain nerve endings like natural teeth, it is easy to continually bite on the words you are saying. By easing up on the way you talk, the clicking will eventually end.

Tips On Improving Your Speech With Dentures

Here are a few simple solutions to help you get accustomed to your dentures so that you can speak confidently while wearing them.

Slow Down Your Speech

When you speak at the same speed you usually do once you start wearing dentures, you will likely experience some clicking sounds. This is your dentures moving out of place and touching the other row of teeth or dentures.

The best way to prevent this from continuing is to speak slower. When you speak slower, dentures won’t shift as much, and you will get used to the different muscle movements required to properly say what you used to always say without dentures.

Talk To Yourself

This may sound a bit odd, but if you read aloud, it helps you learn how to talk with dentures. It doesn’t matter what you say. You can read from a book. You can read the newspaper or a magazine. You can read labels in your pantry or just have a conversation with yourself as you walk around inside your home. Read to your partner, children, or grandchildren. The possibilities are endless.

The more you do this, the better you will be able to speak in normal conversation.

Talk To Someone

Another extension of the talking to yourself exercise is to spend time with someone you trust and talk to them. The reason why this is a separate suggestion is that when you practice speaking with dentures in the presence of someone you trust, like a good friend, your spouse, or whoever, you can request that they point out anything they notice that you have to work on to improve your speech.

The feedback will be useful for you to implement into your practice time.

Count Aloud

Another tip for talking to yourself includes counting to yourself. Only in this instance, count only the numbers from 50 to 80. The reason for this is that this range of numbers contains several of the sounds that are difficult for denture wearers to say at first. The more you practice, the better you will become and once you master the numbers, regular speech should be a lot easier to manage.

Counting numbers will benefit you greatly in improving your speaking with dentures.

Twist Your Tongue

The final tip on helping you learn how to talk with dentures comes from working on your tongue. Your tongue helps form the sounds into words and with dentures in the way, your tongue has to work a bit differently to achieve the same results.

By reciting tongue twisters, poetry, and difficult-to-pronounce words, you will give your tongue and mouth a serious workout. All of this will help improve your communication skills when wearing your false teeth.

In Conclusion

Talking with dentures can make speech a little more difficult, especially at first. However, there are tricks and exercises you can employ to improve the way you say words when you have false teeth in your mouth.

Learning how to talk with dentures won’t be easy, and it will take some time, practice, and patience. But the result will be worth all the time and effort you put into it.