The Whistling 'S'

If you’ve just received your denture, you’ve no doubt noticed that any word containing the letter S sometimes makes you sound like a referee blowing a foul in a basketball match. It’s quite common and we all go through it.

The reason is because when you speak, the air rushes between the denture and the roof of the mouth and out of the small gap at the front between the denture and gum. Sure, it can be embarrassing when it happens, and for me it made me feel older, much older than I am. But there is one sure-fire way to prevent it, or at least minimise it while you re-learn to speak with the denture.

The simple answer is fixative.

For me I prefer Fixodent as it was recommended by my dental prosthetist, it holds the denture in place for the entire day and has a minty-fresh flavour.

There are other brands but I’ve not yet tried them.

Applying fixative is easy.

Firstly, clean and dry the denture. Make sure to dry it thoroughly as any moisture can make it feel spongy when it’s in place.

Then apply three short lines along the gum line in the denture, then one along the back of the denture.

After that, put your denture in your mouth and then hold it firmly in place for about thirty seconds.

Then wait five minutes before eating or drinking.

And that’s it. Easy.

Follow this link to Amazon and you can set up a subscription to have it delivered once a month, or every two months or whenever you’re likely to run out. You also save 5% when you subscribe (save 15% when you subscribe to 5 or more items in a month). Also saves having to go to the chemist and get it over the counter from some kid who makes you feel twice as old.

If you’ve tried a different brand, would you recommend it? Do you have a different procedure for applying fixative? Or how to avoid the whistling ‘S’?