One trick to eating with a smaller mouth opening is to forget spoons and
favor forks.  Almost everything except soup broth can be eaten with a
fork (even ice cream).  A fork is flat and food upon it requires less
space between the front teeth to get into the mouth.

What does that mean?

Let's take mashed potatoes and gravy as an example.  I *think* most
people use a fork for that side dish but probably don't see the
difference between it and a bowl of ice cream served with a spoon as the
utensil of choice.  (People even give me a spoon for a piece of pie!!  
What gives with that???  I have to ask for a fork.)

Next, consider a boneless chicken breast.  No matter how small you cut
it, you're not likely to reach for a spoon unless you're 18 months old.  
The chicken pieces you eat, probably aren't put on top of the fork
tines, it is usually "stabbed" onto the tines.  Here's the deal:  I have
watched how people eat the piece of chicken; most open widely and put
the fork and the chicken *inside* their mouths, close lips and pull the
chicken off the fork very politely.  *But*, for someone needing to limit
the opening, just put the small piece of chicken between the front teeth
which are not opened widely apart, and let the teeth pull the chicken
off.  If you aren't going to be doing a lot of chewing, your next task
is to learn how to swallow food like you swallow aspirin.

Peas ... obnoxious little things rolling all over the plate.  You could
try to put 5-10 of then on top the fork tines *or* you could put 3 on
the tip... but I can't imagine anyone wanting to capture peas with a
spoon.  But I find that if there's a little dressing or gravy mixed with
my peas, they are much easier to manage... they stick together rather
than roll away.

Oatmeal... a spoon is customary if it is loose with milk.  If it's a bit
stiffer, a fork works great and it takes less opening to accommodate a
mouth full of oatmeal on a fork than in a spoon.

If you use a fork, you should have a knife handy.  The British like to
use their knives to control little pieces of food ... not a bad use for
that tool but I mainly use mine for cutting!  ;-)

What do you think so far?  Most reading this are probably thinking
"what's so new about this?  We already know this."  But!  How often do
you *think* about *how* you eat the food on your plate?  (Not often
would be my guess.)  When I look at a menu, the first thing I think
about is *how* will I be able to manage the items I might order.  At
home, it's the same process but I don't have to explain anything to
anyone.

Webby