Speaking with New Dentures: How to Fix a Lisp & Stop Clicking

Speaking with New Dentures: How to Fix a Lisp & Stop Clicking

Getting new dentures is an exciting step toward restoring your smile and chewing function. However, the first time you try to speak with them, you might notice something unexpected: you have a lisp, your dentures click together, or you feel like you are producing excess saliva.

This is completely normal. Your mouth is highly sensitive, and introducing a new appliance changes the space your tongue has to move.

At Oak Park Dental & Denture Clinic, we want to help you adjust to your new dentures as smoothly as possible. Here is a practical, developer-like troubleshooting guide to fixing speech issues, lisping, and clicking.

Why Do New Dentures Affect Your Speech?

Speech is a complex muscular coordination between your lips, tongue, palate, and teeth. When you get new dentures:

1. The Tongue space is altered: The new denture acrylic covers parts of your roof of mouth or lower gum ridge, changing where your tongue meets the surface to make sounds like "S", "F", "V", and "T".
2. Excess Saliva: Your brain treats the new dentures as food initially, triggering your salivary glands to produce extra spit. This excess moisture makes it harder to pronounce words clearly.
3. Loose Fit (Initial Phase): Until your cheek and tongue muscles learn to hold the new dentures in place, they may lift or slide.

3 Actionable Speech Exercises for Denture Wearers

Think of this as "muscular reprogramming". The more you practise, the faster your brain adapts to the new physical contours of your mouth.

1. The Aloud Reading Drill (15 Mins Daily)

Pick up a newspaper, book, or open an article online. Read out loud slowly and clearly.

• Focus on difficult sounds: Pay close attention to words containing "S", "F", "V", "Sh", and "Th".
• If you slip up: Pause, pronounce the word slowly syllable by syllable, and repeat it three times.

2. The Bite-and-Swallow Technique

If you feel your mouth filling with saliva or your dentures lifting:

• Gently bite down on your back teeth and swallow before you start speaking. This resets the saliva level and reseats the dentures securely on your gums.

3. Read Tongue Placement Words

Pronounce words that force your tongue to touch different parts of your mouth:

• For "S" and "Z" sounds: Say "Mississippi," "Sixty-Six," "Scissors," and "Zebra."
• For "F" and "V" sounds: Say "Five," "Fifty," "Valley," and "Favourite." These sounds require your lower lip to touch the edge of your upper teeth.

How to Stop Your Dentures from Clicking

If your dentures make a clicking sound when you talk, it can be embarrassing. Here is why it happens and how to fix it:

The Cause: Over-Opening or Loose Muscles

Clicking occurs when the upper and lower dentures collide. This is usually because you are opening your mouth too wide to speak, or because your biting height (vertical dimension) has changed and your muscles haven't adjusted to the new height yet.

The Fix: Speak Softly and Control Jaw Movement

• Speak slower and quieter: Try to talk at a slightly lower volume and slower pace. This keeps your jaw movements smaller and prevents the teeth from crashing together.
• Muscular training: Give it 2-3 weeks. Your cheek and tongue muscles will naturally learn to stabilise the plates.
• Visit the clinic: If clicking persists after 3 weeks, your denture teeth may be slightly too long, or the bite alignment may need a minor adjustment. We can easily polish or trim this in our on-site lab.

FAQ: Speaking Clearly with Dentures

How long does a lisp last with new dentures?

For most patients, the lisp disappears within 1 to 3 weeks as the tongue adapts and saliva levels return to normal.

Should I use adhesive to help me speak?

In the first few weeks, a tiny dab of denture adhesive can help keep the plates secure while your muscles adapt. However, you should not rely on adhesive long-term to fix a poorly fitting denture.

Why do my dentures slip when I laugh or cough?

A sudden burst of air from laughing or coughing breaks the suction seal. If this happens, gently bite down and swallow to reseat the denture.

Will people notice I am wearing dentures?

You feel the changes much more than others hear them. To other people, your speech likely sounds completely normal, even if you feel like you are lisping.

Still Struggling? Let Us Check the Fit

If you have been practising for more than a month and still struggle to speak clearly, the dentures may need a minor adjustment. A high spot, thick acrylic base, or improper bite alignment can block natural speech.

Call (03) 9306 5432 or book an adjustment appointment online.