All about Dentures....
TV ClubHouse: Archives: All about Dentures....
Whit4you | Friday, July 11, 2003 - 06:07 pm     Howdy, I'm planning to get Dentures of some sort in the next month or two hopefully. Been reading all I can about them on the net but it's hard to find really detailed discussions on this topic. I think I'm not alone in this so think this would be a good topic for others to refer to later when they may need the same help. I've figured out through my reading it is best to save some of my teeth, I have 2 good back teeth on one side, and one good back one on the other. The dentists I've read on the net are adimate about saving any teeth you possibly can... but none of the rest are really saveable unless I had alot of money which I don't. My thoughts right now are to save just one of the others to help affix the teeth too and have the rest pulled. three of the remaining would be salvageable if I were made of money. So anyhow I'd just like anyone who wears dentures or has someone close to them they could ask q's about this - discuss dentures, and the aspects of saving some teeth etc. Also some ideas on the costs involved? I have no clue on this at all. I'll need a set of 'immediate' dentures - and will need them replaced apparently in 6 months after gums have healed fully. I'd just like any and all info on how this is done and so on. I'm scared and clueless and don't have a regular dentist (obviously or my teeth wouldn't be toast lol) Any ideas? Feedback? Clueless, Whitney (FYI for anyone reading my topic on 'broken blood vessels) I'm not longer at all concerned as they are 100% work related, in that I didn't have a single one in the 10 days I was off work - so it's not some weird disease, obviously a weird disease would not take a vacation the same 10 days I did lol) |
Hippyt | Friday, July 11, 2003 - 06:50 pm     Hi Whit,My Dad got dentures a year ago. He had all his teeth pulled,and then had the ones made from the cast taken before his teeth were pulled. The other option ,if I remember correctly,would have left him toothless for about 5 weeks,while they made dentures taken from a cast made after his teeth were pulled and the swelling had gone down. Of course,he had to go back to work,so he couldn't hang around 5 weeks with no teeth.Well,turned out it was a bad decision,he had very bad pain,and a lot of shifting,he lost a lot of weight,and couldn't eat anything even close to solid for about 6 months. They kept readjusting them over and over. He's finally more used to them now,but it was really tough on him for a long time. He opted not to try and save any teeth,he's just always had troubles with his teeth. If you could swing it,I would say do it the long way,it's much better according to a lot of people. Too bad he didn't know until it was too late. |
Eliz87 | Friday, July 11, 2003 - 08:18 pm     Whit, I got dentures when I was 25 years old (I'm 32 now). Although I took good care of my teeth, the enamel wouldn't stop wearing away, the nerves were damaged, and I was in constant misery from toothaches and spending so much time and money on root canals. So...I decided to go for it. Got them extracted and my plates put in immediately. I can honestly say it was the best thing I've ever done for myself. My dentist was excellent, and he fit my dentures perfectly. I never had to go back for a re-fitting. The first couple of weeks I couldn't chew anything. It was soup and jello for me, and it was a little hard to speak correctly (pronouncing your "s"'s and such) for that first week. I don't have to use any of the denture adhesive at all, and I use a toothbrush and toothpaste just like always. They're very easy to care for. The only downside is that I have a hard time biting into some things, like an apple or a pickle. But, that's not a big deal -- I cut them up into bite-size pieces. To me it was all definitely worth it to get rid of the pain. A good fringe benefit, of course, is that my teeth are cosmetically perfect, and always will be. |
Whit4you | Friday, July 11, 2003 - 09:21 pm     Thanks for the info Hippy! Eliz! I want your dentist bad!! I've had this 'fake' thingy in my mouth now since 99 - so I've already had to learn to adjust (sort of I still hate it) having something akin to an upside down spoon in the roof of the mouth. So that part isn't going to be huge for me now I hope (but perhaps cause I'm thinking that it won't be a problem, it'll be even MORE of an adjustment if it's alot more combersome) Here's what I'm really wondering about... will pulling 3 teeth and then WAITING help? See.. in my mind I think and I think it's logical... that having the gums of those 3 teeth do their shrinking and stuff ahead of time will help a great deal. That's how I visualize it anyhow. Make sense? See I don't know but all the stuff I read - talks about how they had to have all these refits etc. I think well maybe if I do this my way (have these 3 pulled... wait 4 to 6 weeks have the other three pulled and then have the 'immediate' dentures put in... that it'll be better. Mentally it adds up to me - having 6 teeth pulled and having an 'immediate' denture put in... as opposed to only having 3 pulled (on one side) it seems to me that it'd work better. Does this make sense to anyone? I swear I'm so clueless on all of this. I have some emotional issues to do with this... my mom (the good one - adopted mom) had dentures and she very rarely wore them and when she did I thought she looked very very strange. So to me I feel I will look very very strange with dentures. Now I've tried to work through this - the reason she looked STRANGE to me is cause she never had teeth and when she did they were so picture perfect and white that she looked like uh - very very strange. So this is how I invision me with dentures. But the thing is - NOW I look (or feel like I look - strange to EVERYONE... and the way I've worked through this now is I will only look strange to those who KNOW Me... and honestly that's ok. I'd rather feel good and be able to smile again in public ... and feel strange (as I always do now anyhow) with those I know. Now here's something interesting but like the 'depression' thread I don't feel selfish in bringing ALL of this up cause I can't imagine out of the 1000's who'll be reading TVCH I'm alone. I don't WANT my new teeth to be perfect!!! See ALL my life - I had people saying I had an incredible smile... I had (for real) these picture perfect teeth - (I have pictures if you doubt me lol) but see to me PERFECT TEETH now represent 'dentures' to me. So everytime I smiled if my teeth were picture perfect as they were till my PTSS - I'd think "They are saying, wow she's young to have dentures" or thinking something else... so I don't WANT my dentures to be perfect... I've thought of little else for the past two weeks since making this decision to get this done (I'm beyond petrified of dentists - I can tell you some real horror stories you'd not believe - to explain why...) So planning to have this done is on my mind 25 hours a day. So I had this dream last night that they had a book (like they have in the hair salons) Where you could pick the teeth you want. No doubt I suppose if you were rich you could!!! But I'm far from rich - getting this done is putting my whole future at risk but it HAS to be done now. So anyhow in this book ... I found MY old teeth sorta but with a few blemishes... one slghtly crooked... one very slightly discolored etc. Why I'm explaining THIS is - do they let you decide these things?? Does it cost more? If so how much more? It'd be worth hundreds to me to have this but then I am back to the questions of refits and re(??) where they have to completely redo them etc. Sigh I'd just like those here who have dentures to share their stories or those here with a friend / family member who've had dentures to let you share theirs. I can't imagine out of hundreds (and soon to be 1000 TVCHers I'm alone in this problem....) I have an appointment next FRiday with the Chase Clinic - but see it's a sorta free clinic (Not free but they charge based on your income) so they won't spend HOURS talking to me about this so I need to know as much as I can about this prior to that. I talked to my work they will give me the leave for this. So my questions are: 1) Can you get*not perfect* false teeth that don't cost much more? 2) Does it make sense that getting 3 pulled and waiting for the gums to heal then getting last 3 pulled will be better?? 3) a very rough estimate of how much it might cost?? 4) should I save this one non-molar to help hold the dentures together?? |
Tabbyking | Friday, July 11, 2003 - 10:02 pm     i am sure you can ask the dentist to have the teeth a little out of alignment or something that makes them not look 'denture perfect'. when i worked in oral surgery, we heard of a woman who had three sets of dentures made! she had one set made rather crooked, then one set with fake braces on it and about 6 months later, the perfectly straight teeth supposedly straightened by braces!! the best fit is still to have an 'immediate' done--putting the new dentures in right after the extractions are done. it acts as a bandage (although the bloody oozing is not great for the first hour or so...) and the gums will heal to the correct shape. you will be sore though, no matter what, for a week or more. if you have some good teeth, go ahead and keep them. they will help hold the denture in and if you need them pulled later, they can seal the 'hole area' of the denture where the teeth used to fit through it, and add the fake teeth. good luck! |
Eliz87 | Saturday, July 12, 2003 - 06:45 pm     Hi there Whit! Okay, let me answer your questions... 1. If you have a good dentist, he will suggest that you do not get "perfect" teeth. They look unnatural. He'll not want to pick the whitest white, for instance -- you want something that will match your skin tone. The shape of the teeth should be similar to that of your own. I don't think it costs more to make a tooth or two slightly crooked on the plate, just to look natural. It shouldn't cost more. 2. As far as getting three pulled then waiting, if you could do that, that would probably be advisable. My situation was just that I was tired of putting up with pain and decaying teeth, and I got impatient. But, if you have the patience for it and aren't in too much pain, that may be the right way for you to go. It's different with everybody. 3. As far as the cost goes, eight years ago my dentures were approximately $650 per plate and $60 per extraction. I'm sure it's gone up a little since then. 4. Re. saving your one molar, I think you would be best advised by your dentist on that. I hope I've helped somewhat. Good luck with whatever you decide to do! :-) |
Sia | Saturday, July 12, 2003 - 08:00 pm     Whit, my DH had an upper denture when I met him, and last year he got his remaining bottom teeth extracted and a bottom plate. The dentist advised that the back six teeth be removed first and several months allowed to pass so that the shrinkage of the gums would take place for the best possible fit. After the back teeth had been out for two or three months, DH went back to have the bottom six teeth pulled (ouch!) and then the bottom denture was ready two weeks later. He does complain that he can't eat some of the foods he used to, and, obviously, he can't do things like bite corn off the cob. For him, though, it was quite necessary as the teeth he had were in poor condition. |
Whit4you | Saturday, July 12, 2003 - 10:02 pm     Intersting info so far thanks - glad to here the pulling three at a time may be a good plan. Sia your post has me a bit confused - do you think I have to have the back molars removed in order to get the dentures? They are in good shape so I was thinking if I leave htose back there - they'd help me chew and that would require my dentures not go back so far - and also thought maybe they could help ancor the dentures (the one single molar on the right side would really work for ancoring I think. |
Sia | Saturday, July 12, 2003 - 10:55 pm     Oh, Whit, I remember now that you did say you were planning to keep the back ones. I guess I would assume that they would eventually have to come out and a whole bottom denture would be less hassle, maybe, but I can't speak from personal experience. I do know that my hubby whines and complains that he can't eat things he used to eat. You could ask your dentist about partials. My grandmother has a partial, but it isn't anchored to anything; it's removable. If your dentist advises keeping your back teeth, keep them. My hubby's teeth were too far gone to be saved, so he didn't have the option of keeping any of them. Good luck. You have a tough road ahead, no matter how/when you do it. You will want to stock up on soft foods like StoveTop stuffing, instant mashed potatoes, pancake mix, things that don't require major chewing, after you have the extractions. And don't be afraid to ask for pain pills to get you through the first several days. Oh, and I realize that perfectly-straight, brilliantly-white teeth don't look "natural," but that's what I'd get if I were to get false teeth, Whit! I just paid over $300 to get the take-home trays and whitening gel from my dentist to lighten my teeth several shades. Wite-out correction fluid would be my preferred color, LOL! I want my teeth DAZZLING! The stuff really works, by the way. Time-consuming and takes a while to see results, but it's working well. |
Whit4you | Sunday, July 13, 2003 - 06:39 pm     Thanks Sia - the two molars back left are in good shape - as is the one molar left on the back right. So hopefully I can keep them. I'd like to talk about how others feel about folks with dentures when they notice folks have dentures and stuff like that. I sort of have hangups about this - always have. So just curious how others think about it. When they see folks with dentures what they think - and how they feel about others possibly thinking "you have dentures' (if you have them) and so on. It's like this my hangeups about this - are personal. I have absolutely no negative vibes or thoughts or feelings about someone with fake hair - or wigs or even fake arms or legs or anything else. But for me dentures are different. I don't know if it might help me learn to not feel self concious if I smile with them if I find out others look at folks with dentures as *I* look at folks with fake hair (ie don't even give it a 2nd thought when I see someone with fake hair, I don't think it's bad or weird or icky or anything) So maybe if I can really believe (if it's true) that OTHERS look at denture wearers the same it might help. Don't know but it's going to be a HUGE adjustment for me... only because of some personal issues to do with dentures and my own life when I was young. Anyhow - I would really like to believe I'm not the only one out of the hundreds (soon to be many hundres) on TVCH who are getting or will get in the future dentures so trying to believe 'this thread isn't about me" - but just using my case as an example to give others the info they need too? Unlike most who get dentures (I think???) I have the advantage of having had this fake thing in my mouth for a few years now so I don't think that'll be a big adjustment for me. I like what I've read so far regarding my plan to remove 3 wait 6 weeks and then the others - and if anyone else has feedback on this plan I'd appreciate it. I really want to know / believe that it'll help my 'immediate dentures' (as I hear them being called) require less adjustments since the healing shrinkage that effects the fit (I believe??) will mostly be on just one side. I'll tell you I'm scared to death about this but it has to be done - it's beyond having choices unless I win the lottery before I start the process (if I won the lottery I could get implants instead of dentures lol) I actually hope that it's possible (still haven't found out otherwise) that I can still get implants SOMEDAY?? (ie a few years after my house is paid off I could save enough to get them) but who knows. So can anyone honestly share with me how they feel when they see folks with dentures, do you notice them? (I do cause it's a personal hangup thingy for me from when I was a kid) When you do notice them do you THINK something?? If so what do you think? And so on. I don't know if 999 people told me they think of and view dentures as I do a hairpiece (ie who cares - no biggy - not a 2nd thought) if it's really help me but I wouldn't be asking if I didn't think it might. I really do have a goal to be able to do a real smile again for the first time since about 1998... so I'm willing to do all I an to believe and absorb it if others do say dentures to them are like a hairpiece to me. Thanks guys - and gosh it'd help me feel better about this thread if someone said "Thanks I might be needing dentures in a few yrs so appreciate this thread happening" LOL (guilt) |
Sia | Sunday, July 13, 2003 - 08:30 pm     Whit, when I met and started dating the man I later married, I didn't even know that he had an upper denture for a while. I finally noticed it one evening when we were lying face-to-face really close and I was looking closely at his face and features. And it wasn't that the upper teeth seemed "too perfect" that tipped me off, either; it was that the upper teeth didn't seem to match his lower teeth, which weren't in good condition. It was funny, because just as I figured out that the upper teeth were false he blurted out, "I have something to tell you..." and I said "You have false teeth!" He was surprised, but relieved that I knew. I guess I assume that a lot of people of retirement age have dentures, but there are lots of forty-somethings and even younger people with them, too. I don't really notice it. I do think that having a smile that makes you happy to show it gives you the greatest boost in self-confidence, however, and improving the looks of your teeth, no matter how you achieve it, is a positive thing for anyone. Go for it! |
Abby7 | Sunday, July 13, 2003 - 09:11 pm     My mother had dentures put in, in her 70's. Of course I would not tell her this...however, IMO they are much to big for her. That, IMO, is her dentist's fault. She used to have small teeth (they "fit" the look of her face/mouth). Now, the dentures look much too big. So, that might be something to take into consideration. (edited to add: sorry whit, I just realized my response doesn't answer any of your questions. sorry. still not answering your question...but,...I would get photos of someone's teeth I liked. Then try to get a match. |
Tabbyking | Sunday, July 13, 2003 - 09:50 pm     i would go for dentures over implants anyway. you have to have excellent bones for implants, and if your teeth are so bad they need to be removed, they likely do not have great solid bone under them. you would have to have your teeth pulled and wait 3 to 6 months for the bone to fill in and get healthy. i would not want my bone drilled open and the metal post hammered in. after the bone heals around the metal post, a tooth is then screwed onto the post--it might be another month or two. my husband just had a molar pulled and will be getting an implant for that one tooth. it will cost about 1800 bucks for that one implant! and where we live, fees are about 25% less than 'big-city' dentists' charges. do get all the back teeth you are planning on having removed extracted in advance. keep the good ones to help with the 'hold' of your denture. uppers have suction created with the denture and the roof of the mouth. lowers are more difficult, so if that is where you can use some of your own teeth, by all means try that. mashed potatoes, soups, scrambled eggs, sauteed mushrooms, cream of wheat...soft foods for a while, but you can get creative with them! the more you can wear you dentures, the better the fit, because the gum will heal and shape to them. don't be afraid to use pain pills if you need them, and rinse with warm salt water as soon as you are allowed to. the salt will help 'atrophy' (shrink) the gums and the salt water will also clean the area. |
Christina | Monday, July 14, 2003 - 05:58 am     I have to say that I would never notice if someone had dentures or not. ....If I did, I would probably just feel that the person needed them, takes care of thenselves and cares about the way they look. Bring a good friend along with you to the dentist and perhaps some old pictures (showing your smile) to the dentist with you. |
Ophiliasgrandma | Monday, July 14, 2003 - 09:11 am     I have just one word to say...denturist! Here in Oregon you are allowed to bypass a dentist once the dentistry part is finished in order to work directly with the person who is actually making the dentures. Cutting out the middle-man definately gets you closer to the look that is most pleasing to you without all the long wait everytime you need an an adjustment. |
Kstme | Monday, July 14, 2003 - 11:16 am     Whit (and ONLY because it's you!), I have had dentures since I was 21. I'm 56. I had all my upper teeth pulled and all but 5 bottom front removed in one day. The dentures were put in and became a part of 'me.' I, too, had no enamel and my teeth were in horrible shape. I'd been to the U of Wash. and every 'expert' in the field, at the time. No one could save them. I do not recommend having 'this' 'take everyone at once' radical prodecure done. It was extremely painful and it took longer to heal. If I were to do it again, I would have had it done in stages. In 1996, I lost the rest of the bottom teeth and now have a full dentures up and down. HANG ON TO ANY TEETH YOU CAN!! I have two 'crooked' teeth in front. No extra charge. My teeth are NOT dazzling white. It took me YEARS to get used to wondering if people could 'tell' or not. Now, I frankly don't give a rats *ss. I have had people compliment me on my smile many times. As I got older, I gained weight and that created a few problems with the fit. Lately, a weight loss, has caused some problems with the lower dentures fit and I've taken the old trusty emory board and Dremel(sp?) to it. Not recommended either, but it works...LOL For the most part, I can eat ANYTHING I want. I can't chew gum or eat sticky foods like caramels. I can eat corn on the cob and apples but sometimes, the pain afterwards isn't worth the effort. Food WILL get stuck under the dentures. It's the pits when you're eating out. At home, I can wash them off privately. Sometimes, things which involve a lot of chewing action will irritate the gums and cornnuts will destroy them!! I, also, use a regular toothbrush and regular toothpaste. I don't use adhesives either. All in all, if I had it to do over...when I was young, it was fabulous! Now, I wish I still had 'real' teeth. The floating bottom denture has made a HUGE difference! Not always good! As for price. I really don't have a clue. Our insurance has paid for most of the three sets I've owned. Hope this helped you. Gawd, is there NOTHING this board doesn't know about us???? LOL |
Whit4you | Monday, July 14, 2003 - 03:01 pm     Yes of course it helps Kstme thanks for sharing!! I've been thinking about doing just that taking in a picture of me with a big smile where you can really see my teeth. It was a picture taken just months before my PTSS and believe it or not 2/3rds of my teeth were in perfect shape before the PTSS - so I'm not sure I *want* to get them to look like my old teeth because my old teeth were so perfect they LOOK Like false teeth (crazy i know but it's all mental for me...) I'm glad others seem to understand my idea of having them a bit crooked (just a tad...) and nite pearly white - because then I won't think every time I smile "They know I have false teeth" (even though I did have perfect pearly whites till my PTSS. Well I think my plan is to take in my old picture and look for a picture with someone with slightly crooked teeth so the dentist can understand what I want. I mean my teeth were the perfect size, shape, and not in the slightest crooked or anything so I sure don't think I'd be able to get used to them being real crooked, the goal for me is to just make sure they aren't - and don't look at first glance perfect. But not enough for someone to think "boy she has crooked teeth!" lol. Although I've never given a 2nd thought to folks with crooked teeth unless they were really really bad and then I didn't think "it looks bad' or anything - I just felt bad for them that it might bother them. I notice false teeth (it's all cause of growing up and my mom not wearing teeth all the time which totally embarassed us kids, but it was even worse when she DID wear them ....) I notice them based on the gums... so I'm wondering if it costs more to get really realistic looking uh (gums or whatever the tops of false teeth are called) Well no matter what happens there's one thing I do have to look forward too - and that'll be for the first time in years being able to smile at many various times without feeling self consious, like when someones a few feet away - like when it's dusk... and alot of other times where I won't be thinking "They know I have false teeth' It's funny though I read above someone said - they don't care what others think. I never used to either, not sure why that's changed. Maybe instead of focusing on trying to find out how folks feel about others with false teeth and all of those answers I am looking for... I need to focus on figuring out why I now CARE what some stranger might think if they think I have dentures? And how I can get back to the type of person who doesn't care. As I write this a memory comes back as to why *I* didn't care most of my life what others thought of various aspects of how I look, or how I dress (gawd I was the last person on earth wearing those dragging bell bottoms with the frayed edges and so on lol) The reason is because I spent a great deal of time as a kid in a place called Shriners Hospital. This was 30 years ago, and things were different then. The waiting room was full, totally FULL of patients. All with extreme physical handicaps (no legs, 3 arms, and so many incredibly horrifying things to look at for a young child such as myself) So my perspectives were always based on those folks and the lives they had to live. Guess I lost site of that since my PTSS and the mass changes in my own physical appearance. So I really need to try to get the concept down pat that if someone does judge me for having false teeth it's their problem not mine and I shouldn't care what they think. (not there yet but going to try to make this my goal) I"m petrified about this but I'm also very excited. As far as lowers that people talk about here so much... I don't think I'll be needing lower dentures for 5 or 10 years. I'm pretty excited to read that I may be able to eat an apple or corn on the cob it's been over 5 yrs since I could eat either of those |
Tabbyking | Monday, July 14, 2003 - 03:14 pm     good for you! hang on to the lower teeth as long as you can. it's almost always the lowers that are hard to fit because there isn't the suction created as there is with the palate. and if you ever need a repair to your denture and you hear the dentist ask the assistant to get some 'cyano acrylate', just grab up your denture and go home and use your OWN super glue!! i think it's great that you are finding out all the pros and cons and deciding what you want before you get railroaded into some perfect set of teeth that screams 'false' from across a crowded room! you will be able to ask the dentist about things that matter to you and he or she will love that you know something about it. i wouldn't go to someone who thought your imput didn't matter. fortunately, there are many caring professionals who are interested in pleasing their patients, not just making a buck. |
Juju2bigdog | Monday, July 14, 2003 - 06:02 pm     Kstme, I couldn't tell.  |
Kstme | Monday, July 14, 2003 - 07:00 pm     LOL, Juju. Thank you. They sure don't stop me from yakking a mile a minute, do they? Whit, I think Juju would be honest if she'd noticed them. |
Realitynut | Monday, July 14, 2003 - 07:17 pm     My dh got a full upper denture and partial lower this year and had no trouble from day one. I got him soup and other soft foods, but he's been eating steak and doing great. You would never know to look at him that he has dentures. Incidentally, his dentist sent him to a denturist who told him he would be a perfect candidate for dentures because he had a large mouth (I could have told him that). |
Ginger1218 | Tuesday, July 15, 2003 - 02:52 pm     Ok Whit, I think I can answer this from a knowledgeable position - my father was a dental technician (He owned his own Dental laboratory, he made false teeth) to answer your questions: 1) Can you get*not perfect* false teeth that don't cost much more? Absolutely, you can pick out the shade and size of the teeth 2) Does it make sense that getting 3 pulled and waiting for the gums to heal then getting last 3 pulled will be better?? For the top (uppers) no, you are better off with a full upper (they are extremely easy to get used to and you want to have them put in immediately after extraction, this way the gums do not swell as much. You can keep these for about 6 months to a year (if you use denture adhesive and get it relined) thereafter you can get a new pair. Now - for the bottoms, my father always told me (and my sister is living proof), that bottoms are very very hard to adjust to, so you want to keep at least one tooth as an anchor and make a bridge. 3) a very rough estimate of how much it might cost?? There are places in NY that make them for about $400 for a full upper or lower, and you can pay them out as you go. The tooth extraction will be extra - depending on the dentist or oral surgeon. 4) should I save this one non-molar to help hold the dentures together?? See answer to question 2 Whatever you do, do not pull the teeth without having new ones to put in immediately after. If you have any other questions just let me know |
Luvtrash | Monday, August 04, 2003 - 02:07 am     Well, Whit, no new postings in two weeks. Did you do it? Or are you still considering? There is a lot of good advice here. I had dentures put in at 28 (now 59) and it was the best thing I did. I have had no problems and eat anything--including ice (there is even Freedent gum that doesn't stick). My dentist now tries to talk me into implants so I assume it can be done for a long time, but I can't imagine the pain and $$$ that would involve for a full set! I had a partial on the bottom attached to 7 teeth for a couple of years but have not had problem with the full plate on the bottom. What is very important, I have found, is the lab the dentist uses. My insurance changed and I had to change dentist. She used a mold that was wider than my mouth and my dentures needed a lot of adjustment for the first time (an emery board is a big help indeed!) and although they are natural looking in themselves, they changed the shape of my mouth area. I am going to have a new set with my old dentist! It will cost about $1200. By the way, anyone I have told over the years has always been surprised that I had dentures. Don't worry about that aspect of it. If you don't draw attention to it, no one will notice. For one thing, everyone is busy worrying about their own problems! LOL Hope it goes well for you. Let us know what happens. |
Kalekona | Wednesday, August 06, 2003 - 12:12 am     Whit your not alone at all, this is a decission I too am just making, i've put it off for a couple of years due to avaibility of dentist, cost and just plain didn't want to have dentures. (i had dreams of waiting long enough that i"d hit the lotto and could get implants. But for the past few years i've had teeth breaking off I feel like a hillbilly granny, it makes me feel like people will see me as less intelligent because I'm missing teeth. Now I have a bottome tooth that is wearing down rather fast. I have about 6 botttom teeth left and four upper all in the front, (though one upper tooth is chipped) My hubby just got a new job and we will have dental coverage beginning next month and i've finally given in to reality and started to look forward to a nice smile again, and the ability to eat normally. (with no back teeth (they are broken off at the gum line) I have chewed with my front teeth (thus the reason they are wearing down.) Anyway all the information your being given is a God send to me. Thanks for being brave enough to be honest about it. I too have some questions- since i have little pain with my remaining teeth can they be saved, and crowns put on? and when your insurance says it covers implants are they talking about full impolants or just anchors? And I am to vain (and work retail) to go toothless at all, so what do I do? And how long do i have to be lectured by the dentist for waiting so long? (i had very small brittle teeth all my life and a coupel years of stupidity with substances sealed my fate so to speek and made a little problem a huge one.) Good luck whit and keep us posted I really do care how things turn out for you. Oh and I meant to say-- Please do not worry about what people will think of you having dentures, all they will see is a beautiful smile and a happier/healthier you! |
Ginger1218 | Wednesday, August 06, 2003 - 04:07 am     Kalekona, I would remove the top teeth, get dentures, they are wonderful, BUT, cap and keep your bottom teeth and get a bridge. You will not have to go toothless, they put the dentures in when they remove the teeth. |
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