Dentures Imminent!

[spider8]

I'm going to be having my remaining 9 top teeth out next week (I still have my bottom teeth) and have my denture/top plate put in then and there but the whole thing is scaring the hell out of me .
Has anybody in -ish had dentures recently? I'm scared I won't be able to talk properly or eat anything but baby food and have my top teeth pop-out when I laugh or cough etc.
HELP!

[Green Aura]

I haven't but my mother does - she's had them from being a very young woman - and you wouldn't know unless you saw her during the night! Like you it's only her top set. She doesn't seem in any way debilitated by them so I don't think you should have anything to worry about.

[Fred Hoggin]

I'm thinking of making my own false set, that would be self sufficient

[spider8]

Ha! Yes at the moment I whistle very well and lisp as my front left tooth has gone (smile at the little children and just watch their faces - now do what mummy said and brush your teeth!). That's the most noticable gap, all teeth on my upper left have gone apart from the canine and the one next to it. My other upper teeth are so painful with the molars hurting constantly and the others hurting with cold air etc.
I am paying out £1,000 for this denture plus extractions - couldn't afford the alternative of £400 plus per tooth for root canal work and crowns..........what's a girl (non-millionaire) to do .

[Fred Hoggin]

Search Ebay

[gdb]

You'll be fine!

My Mother had them too. And she could eat solid old toffee better than me! (And no, they didnt even need to come out at night).

[pumpy]

You'll be fine Spider. I have dentures, & while you may feel like you've a mouthful of marbles at first, you will soon learn to adapt. When speaking, it's amazing how your tongue seems to re-adjust to forming words with this "obstacle" in the roof of the mouth. I hav'nt worn my bottom set for years, & have no problems eating (including steaks etc.) You may have to make some adjustments to suit, but you'll soon adapt. As regards loose fitting, there are alsorts of fixatives on the market....... it's a case of experimenting 'til you find the one that works best for you. Hope all goes well & keep smiling!!!

[Squirrel46]

Had all mine out a long time ago and the new ones put straight in, your mouth then adust more easily. Can't bear them out for long and I can still munch apples!

[Millymollymandy]

I find this thread very interesting as I wonder what kind of dentist offers this as an option and how far 'gone' your teeth have to be?

I would really prefer to have dentures than paying a fortune for dental work and having rotting gums and constant pain (not toothache) from terrible sensitivity plus other twinges. I haven't bitten into an apple for about 30 years and can't chew anything chewy or hard or crispy and sometimes need to eat pap just to save the pain and discomfort.

But I've never met a dentist yet who would consider such a thing, they seem to think they must save your awful ugly twisted stained teeth at all costs. This current session of periodontal work is costing about €600 and is just making things (discomfort/pain) worse, in the past I paid literally thousands of pounds (in swiss francs) for periodontal work and new crowns. My front tooth has been recrowned 3 times now.

Yet everyone says NO! Don't have false teeth! But they wouldn't be painful and it'd be cheaper in the long run and I have such eating problems anyway, it can't be worse, surely?!



(Have to go to the periodontist this afternoon which might explain my frustration!)

[oldfella]

Being a two at the top and two at bottom man, (lost mine in the army 1959) I eat anything and everything put in front me, never had problems since, last replacement in 1991. Mind you some of the homemade booze I've tried has nearly melted them

[spider8]

It's a long story MMM.
Most of my life I've been treated by NHS dentists, some good, some bad and the last one was hopeless but I had a fight to get an NHS one at all. Thinking all would be fine I soon learnt that he just didn't have the time to treat me when stuff needed doing (too many clients, too little time). When I'd tell him about pain or sensitivity he'd say 'well that's what you get when you have your own teeth'!! If I was in his chair for more than 4 minutes I was doing well but didn't have anything done over the years and it's then when the damage was probably done.
I'd had enough of this and left him to go to a private practice and he was horrified and I had so much work done and spent thousands trying to get my teeth sorted. It didn't work, after having several root canal jobs done with crowns there were still problems and oh the pain (sounds like you know only too well MMM).
Anyway, after moving here to Orkney and going to a private dentist (no chance at getting NHS and even those that do have to wait 2 years for treatment!), my upper left 1 tooth (which had been crowned 30 years ago) broke up inside the gum and although he suggested having a plate with the tooth on to fill this gap I just though 'enough'! I asked his opinion about having my remaining top teeth removed and having a denture and he agreed that it would be the best thing to a) stop all the expensive work and b) stop the pain.
Like I said, it is still very expensive but when faced with a choice between a one tooth bridge at £1027 or plate/denture at £334 (plus extractions) - it's a done deal.
All I want is to be pain free, to be able to eat and drink without wanting to scream and to save a fortune on pain killers.
I'm used to having all this dental work done so I'm not scared of that although it won't be nice, just the finality of it and somehow I feel such a failure
My lovely hubby is upset at seeing me go through all this and just wants my pain to stop, been like this for all our married life and that and other medical problems, including depression (well who wouldn't be!), has made me think they hey! I can get rid of one pain in my life so why not.
It will probably just be swapping one lot of problems for another lot of denture-related problems but I'm desperate now...........Wed 13th (!!) is the dreaded day and I'm getting more scared by the hour!
Sorry to have gone on so long .

[Millymollymandy]

Thanks Spider that is really interesting and informative. I don't think I've had the same pain as you but I have to be so careful of not eating cold food that all salads/fruit etc have to be at room temperature or I just can't eat them. The very worst is at the dentists who never ever have lukewarm water! and always spray freezing cold water or air on your teeth (the bastards!). My gums just keep on receding despite costly treatment and I get sore places on my gums often. My teeth are reasonably OK but I have a mouthful of fillings from when I was young and then a mouthful of crowns from when those filled teeth broke! One ancient crown needs replacing or a bridge done as it is.

Like you I'd just like to be able to save money and make eating an easier more pleasant and less painful experience.

[snapdragon]

Getting them straight in is best, it feels like you have a cup and saucer in your mouth for a while but they do settle in. don't delay getting minor adjustments done if they become uncomfortable
Top denture is easier to adjust to as your tongue and suck holds em in, it's unlikely they'll flop about - thats more likley with a small partial plate - can you tell I've been there? - lost my partial plate in the co-op once - having held the co-op stamps in my teeth, pulled the stamps to put them away and the teeth came with 'em scrabbling about under the shelves of beans looking for them couldn't blush for laughing

[spider8]

Thank you everyone, good to hear your stories and various dental conditions!
How did you get on this afternoon MMM? Not painful I hope
I will be a total wreck on Wed morning though .
Loved your stamp story snapdragon .

[Millymollymandy]

I didn't have any more ultrasound treatment (shows how little I understand what's going on ) but lots of photos taken of my gob, ages spent going through poking into my sockets with some sort of measuring device calling out how many mm of gum pocket I've got aorund every tooth to the nurse, then finally some discussion time about problem teeth and have to go back in 4 months then 8 months.

It's all my fault really because gum disease is not always but often is, due to smoking. But she said do not give up smoking cold turkey like because that will cause much worse gum infections! I'm not ready to give up but will try to cut down which is what she recommended.

The trouble is this periodontist is not my actual dentist, who doesn't have a clue and I don't trust with a bargepole, so I will have to look for another dentist......story of my life, I rarely find a dentist who has a clue, espcially about gum disease. My current dentist told me that a tooth that has a 27 year old crown is a bit wobbly - now I already knew from a previous periodontist that one day that would need a bridge - but this daft dentist said oh we can just put a new crown on it whereas the new periodontist said no way! if it's wobbly you can't just recrown it. Plus she never took any X-rays and she didn't even tell me about the periodontist, even after I'd told her I had problem gums and had had surgery on them in the past. (It was my husband she told to go to the periodontist!!!) *shakes head in disbelief*

Anyway nuff of my woes, I hope everything goes OK for you and I'm sure you'll be fine after an initial period of getting used to the new teeth. Will you have temp ones to start with? Cos my mum has just had most of her remaining bottom ones out and won't get her new plate until Feb and she's paying privately. So she has a temp plate for the moment.