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Hello, and thanks for reading my post. I'm hoping someone can steer me in the right direction for this topic.
Earlier this week I had most of my teeth extracted due to advanced periodontal disease. Bone grafts were also injected in my mouth to prepare me for future dental implants. While I still have my front teeth, it is obviously difficult to speak and eat at the moment without the back teeth.
I just asked my dentist about getting something temporary to help me with speaking as I will be in meetings all next week, and his response was to practice forming my words around the teeth that are still in my mouth, because he couldn't give me dentures until my gums were healed from the surgery (about a month).
I wasn't too convinced about his answer, so I did some research and found that some dentists will make a mold of your teeth before they're extracted in order to make temporary dentures while your mouth heals.
I'm going to my current dentist next week to have the sutures removed from my gums. Please help me with the following concerns:
1. Should I let this be my last visit to him and look for someone else to complete all my dental needs, and if so, do I let my current dentist know this while I'm visiting him next week?
2. Is it too late to get temporary dentures since I no longer have my original back teeth?
3. Is there anything else I should be aware of prior to making this visit?
I would greatly appreciate anyone's assistance on this. Thank you so much in advance!
I'm a dentist so I'll chime in here. So what you're after here is what's called an immediate denture. Here's how it works. Bring the patient in for the exam and if the tx plan calls for extraction of all the upper teeth than fine. If the patient wants teeth immediately after the extractions that's what called an immediate denture, sometimes we call it a transitional denture. Patient is in the chair, take a alginate impression or with other material. Send it to the lab, they pour it up, then take all the existing teeth of the model and smooth it out, as if you already had your teeth taken out. Now they can make the denture. Bring the patient back in for the appt, get the patient numb, take out the teeth and put the denture in. Now, it may feel good at first, and usually the dentist will say to wear the denture for the next 3-4days without taking it out. Believe it or not it actually helps with the healing in a sense because it's covering the extraction sockets. Problem is the bone needs to heal and the gum tissue follows the bone causing the denture to feel loose when the healing is done. Plus there may be a piece of bone sticking out that causing irritation. I don't like making these dentures because patients almost always come back complaining. What I like to do is take out the back teeth first up to the canines and let the patient heal with that. Now I would take the impression and do the immediate denture. This way you're not doing everything at once, it's easier for the patient because depending on how many teeth were taken out the healing would be better. Less chance something going wrong now that you have to only take out 6 teeth (Canine to Canine) versus taking out 12 or 14 teeth all at once. That's how I would've approached this one. Hope this helps!
Your procedure is consistent with my dentist's, and now I feel a little more comfortable with his decision.
I just wish there was a way to cover and protect the back teeth after they got extracted; at least I could eat more than just soft foods, and wouldn't have so much difficulty speaking during the month-long healing period.
Nonetheless, thank you for your reply. It was very helpful!
I'm a dentist so I'll chime in here. So what you're after here is what's called an immediate denture. Here's how it works. Bring the patient in for the exam and if the tx plan calls for extraction of all the upper teeth than fine. If the patient wants teeth immediately after the extractions that's what called an immediate denture, sometimes we call it a transitional denture. Patient is in the chair, take a alginate impression or with other material. Send it to the lab, they pour it up, then take all the existing teeth of the model and smooth it out, as if you already had your teeth taken out. Now they can make the denture. Bring the patient back in for the appt, get the patient numb, take out the teeth and put the denture in. Now, it may feel good at first, and usually the dentist will say to wear the denture for the next 3-4days without taking it out. Believe it or not it actually helps with the healing in a sense because it's covering the extraction sockets. Problem is the bone needs to heal and the gum tissue follows the bone causing the denture to feel loose when the healing is done. Plus there may be a piece of bone sticking out that causing irritation. I don't like making these dentures because patients almost always come back complaining. What I like to do is take out the back teeth first up to the canines and let the patient heal with that. Now I would take the impression and do the immediate denture. This way you're not doing everything at once, it's easier for the patient because depending on how many teeth were taken out the healing would be better. Less chance something going wrong now that you have to only take out 6 teeth (Canine to Canine) versus taking out 12 or 14 teeth all at once. That's how I would've approached this one. Hope this helps!
Doctor... I am 68 years old, and I have a serious problem. I have had dentures for years, but find that just using my upper denture will get the job done that I need. I am quickly becoming anemic, and sickly because I have worked on my own upper denture for way to many years, and now I can not even chew the soft things right. I desperately need a good fitting upper denture, so I can go on, and not continue to hurt so bad when I chew. I just need either a relign of what I have, or an upper plate similar to this, except that it will fit. This has caused havoc on my health. I am on Medicare, but either way, I am willing to pay for a good fitting upper to chew my soft food with. I need help. I have gone down around 50lbs in past few months because I can't chew without hurting
Thank You............... Robert boblinde@comcast.net
Sounds like you would need a relign of the existing denture or a completely new one made. As we get older we all lose bone, but denture wearers lose bone faster, it's called atrophy, which is probably why your denture doesn't fit the same way it did when you first got it. And when you say it hurts when you chew, it sounds like you may need an adjustment on your denture, meaning something is rubbing or irritating your gum tissue. I would either have a new denture made or have the existing one religned, or maybe both. Nothing wrong with having two dentures, some of my patients will do that just in case one breaks they have a backup. I would get the relign done first because that won't take no time at all really, probably less than a week or week and a half. Hope this helps.
I like the idea of getting the back teeth out, and letting the healing process take place before moving forward with temporary dentures. Approximately how long does it take to heal from back teeth extractions?
Question; I keep reading about immediate dentures with the pros and cons. My DDS had to send for a special mouth piece so that they could make impressions, since my mouth was to small. I had top and bottom teeth extracted then had immediate dentures put in. Of course they did not fit properly because of the swelling of the extractions. Second visit to my DDS they added a liner to tops and bottoms to help with the sores. I went back the third time and told my DDS about my issues with the sores and the one side not connecting so that I would be able to chew. My DDS then shaved my dentures and on the good side shaved the teeth so that it would help with the uneven bite. Now with the good side was shaved to much that now they do not connect. I paid alot of money for these "immediates" which my DDS keeps on telling me that they are just temperary. I did not notice that he had shaved so much until I returned home and cried all night long. I have another appoinment in one week. Should I tell my DDS that I very unhappy about what he did, this has caused me social embarrassment since I talk in public. These "immediates" cost me $2,000.00 plus the extractions cost me another $2,000.00. With my permanents this will be another $3,000.00. Please help I do not know what to do?
Question; I keep reading about immediate dentures with the pros and cons. My DDS had to send for a special mouth piece so that they could make impressions, since my mouth was to small. I had top and bottom teeth extracted then had immediate dentures put in. Of course they did not fit properly because of the swelling of the extractions. Second visit to my DDS they added a liner to tops and bottoms to help with the sores. I went back the third time and told my DDS about my issues with the sores and the one side not connecting so that I would be able to chew. My DDS then shaved my dentures and on the good side shaved the teeth so that it would help with the uneven bite. Now with the good side was shaved to much that now they do not connect. I paid alot of money for these "immediates" which my DDS keeps on telling me that they are just temperary. I did not notice that he had shaved so much until I returned home and cried all night long. I have another appoinment in one week. Should I tell my DDS that I very unhappy about what he did, this has caused me social embarrassment since I talk in public. These "immediates" cost me $2,000.00 plus the extractions cost me another $2,000.00. With my permanents this will be another $3,000.00. Please help I do not know what to do?
It sounds like these are doing what they are supposed to do. Immediate dentures are simply a way for you to NOT have to go around without teeth. They never fit well because they are guessing what the undersurface of the denture needs to be shaped like, in other words, they are guessing how your gums/bone will be shaped after the extractions. These are socks on a rooster. They never fit and they are not supposed to fit. This is why most people have to have a new set made once the mouth has healed. A better alternative may have been to have dental implants placed with immediate attachment of the teeth. But this is obviously more expensive so you have to go with what you can afford.
Yes. But will you be happy with them is a separate issue. Dentures are not a replacement for teeth....they are a replacement for not having teeth.
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