While some denture discomforts can be handled at home, Jack W. Clinton, D. M. D. , says you should see your dentist if:

• You develop soreness that doesn’t improve within a week.
• You have an area on the gum that bleeds spontaneously or is filled with pus.
• There’s extra tissue growing, particularly between the upper lip and the gum.
• You have a white sore for more than one week.
• You have a sore that doesn’t heal completely within 10 to 14 days.

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Dentures have come a long way since the wooden teeth worn by George Washington. But, as anyone who has worn them can attest, dentures can cause discomfort. There are two times when dentures often cause discomfort—during the initial “adjustment” phase, when dentures are new, and after several years of wearing, when dentures may stop fitting properly.

Most people become accustomed to their new dentures within a short time. However, at first, you may have difficulty talking and eating. You may find the dentures tend to “slip,” or you may develop sore spots in your mouth.

Even people who have had dentures for years sometimes develop problems with them, usually problems related to fit. “When the teeth are extracted, the dentures sit on the bony ridge that’s left,” says Sandra Hazard, D.M.D., a managing dentist with Willamette Dental Group, Inc., in Oregon. “Without the teeth, the stimulation to the bone is gone and, over many years, the bone is reabsorbed by the body. The plastic denture, of course, stays the same but starts to fit badly.”

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