Getting my words back: finally speaking clearly with new dentures

“I’ve noticed ‘S’ and ‘TH’ sounds can be stubborn for a while...”

Is it weird that I’m actually more worried about those “S” and “TH” sounds than the actual fit of my dentures? I keep tripping over words like “thanks” and “sixth,” and sometimes it feels like my tongue has totally forgotten where to go. Did anyone else feel like they were lisping a ton at first? Does it just get better with practice, or am I stuck with this for a while? I’ve tried reading out loud (even did Dr. Seuss), but I still cringe hearing myself.

I actually think the “S” and “TH” thing is way more annoying than the fit issues, at least at first. I felt like I was hissing and lisping all over the place, especially with words like “sixth” - I sounded like I was trying to speak Parseltongue. But honestly, I wouldn’t stress too much. For me, it got better after a few weeks, but I had to stop obsessing over every little slip. The more I focused on it, the worse it sounded in my head. Reading out loud helps, but sometimes you just have to let your mouth relearn things at its own pace.

That “S” and “TH” problem is honestly the thing I remember most about my first few weeks with dentures. I kept tripping over words like “sixth,” “thanks,” or even just “see” - felt like my tongue was suddenly too big for my mouth. The fit drove me nuts too, but you’re right, the speech stuff was what really got to me. I’d catch myself practicing in the mirror, trying to say “thistle” or “sassy,” and it just sounded… off.

I actually found singing along to music in the car helped a bit. It forced me to exaggerate words without overthinking them. And yeah, reading out loud made a difference, but sometimes I just had to laugh it off. My grandkids thought it was hilarious when I tried to read them tongue twisters.

It’s funny how the more I obsessed, the worse it got. Once I stopped zeroing in on every little slip, things started to sound more normal. Guess our mouths just need some time to reboot and figure out the new normal.

It’s funny how the more I obsessed, the worse it got. Once I stopped zeroing in on every little slip, things started to sound more normal.

That bit really hit home for me. My daughter got her dentures pretty young, and those “S” and “TH” sounds drove her up the wall too. She’d get so frustrated trying to say “sister” or “thirty” that she’d just give up mid-sentence. What helped her most was reading silly books out loud with me. We’d end up laughing at all the weird pronunciations instead of stressing about it. It took a while, but once she relaxed, her speech started coming together way faster. Sometimes you just have to let it be a mess for a bit, you know?

Sometimes you just have to let it be a mess for a bit, you know?

That’s pretty much my motto these days. When I first got my dentures, I tried to practice in front of the mirror, but I’d end up sounding like a cartoon villain - lots of hissing and lisping. My partner started calling me “Ssssteve” (my name’s not even Steve). Honestly, once I started joking about it and stopped nitpicking every sound, things got way easier. Laughter really does smooth out the rough patches.