According to the recent "Fixodent Beauty & Aging" study, of women 40 and older, the prospect of needing dentures one day is a real fear. Like many of the patients I meet with on a daily basis, they have a wide range of concerns. According to the survey, for women worried about getting dentures, 61 percent say it would ease their worries to know "their dentures would stay in place."

The idea of dentures dislodging during dinner with friends, or a meeting with colleagues can be mortifying, and understandably so. If your dentures don't fit well, you should seek the care of a prosthodontist. However, if you need some extra protection to help you avoid potentially embarrassing slips, you should consider using a denture adhesive.

As a new denture wearer, you probably have a few questions about using denture adhesive for the first time. To help you to continue living life confidently, I've developed a few tips to keep in mind when using denture adhesive:

There are several denture varieties available, so you should try a few to find out which one is right for you. One denture adhesive you may consider is Fixodent^®, because it comes in several easy-to-use varieties that give you a long, strong hold.

For your upper denture, apply three or four dabs of denture cream, the size of a pencil eraser, on the upper part of the denture that fits against the roof of your mouth. For your lower denture, distribute three or four dabs, also the size of a pencil eraser, evenly around the inside area of your lower denture. If excessive denture cream oozes out of the denture after you bite on it, then you know you used too much.

Denture adhesive can be applied at any time during the day – as soon as you wake up and are getting ready to put your dentures in, or in the middle of the day right before you go out to meet your friend for lunch.