My daughter, 31, had all her teeth extracted and immediate upper and lower dentures. I thought that it was a bit extreme given her young age. She was very self conscious. Anyways, she had this done three weeks ago and has gone through hell since day one. I knew that she would have an adjustment period, but this is ridiculous. I had an upper denture at age 40, so I knew what she could expect. But, hers is so extreme, and I am appalled at the lack of compassion from her dentist.
Her teeth are way too big for her. She had small teeth to begin with, and the impressions must have been way off. Something went wrong somewhere. First, the dentist she thought who was going to do the extractions had his son doing it, and did not tell my daughter until she was back in the chair. I was shocked that my daughter agreed to let him, as she is very outspoken. The son told her on a recent visit that the dentures were wrong for her, and he would have to talk to his dad about it, and see about having new one made. The father told my daughter that unfortunately some people have trouble and my daughter was one of them. And, if he took impression for new ones that she would not get them in short amount of time. And, that her mouth must heal for three more months. He told her that he would cut her a check for what insurance company paid him, but he keeps the teeth. So, she would need to be without teeth until she found someone to make her new ones.
I could not get over him being so insensitive. I believe that it was the son’s mistake, and they should make it right. However, that is not going to happen. She is seeking a second opinion and hoping another dentist can help her. She was advised by a medical professional to see if she cold get a loan, pay cash for new dentures and sue the dentist that would not correct the dentures made. Not only her appearance, but she is in pain.
I am not a sue happy person and don’t believe in it for financial gain. However, she just does not have the money to pay for new dentures. She just wants dentures that fit, and hopes to get reimbursed.
I hope that a new dentist will be able to help her. She has been an emotional wreck over this.
I am glad to see this thread still somewhat active.
Becky, my question for you is are you seeing much bone loss having had the full lower denture at such a young age? I say that without knowing how much older you are now.
I was 23 when I got a full upper and lower “partial” although it’s really more of an overdenture with openings for 4 crowned teeth that the dentist left for denture grip and bone retention.
Now I am 40 and those teeth have gone bad as well. One of them became infected about a month and a half ago (OMG, dental infections are the worst!) and I had it pulled today after lots of pain and a round of antibiotics. I know after the teeth are all pulled I will need to get a full bottom set. Just curious what kind of bone loss, if any you have noticed?
I am so glad I can across this board! I am 27 and had my final set of extractions (14 teeth) and my immediates put in less than a week ago. Of course I was nervous, but also excited. I had been dealing with broken teeth and constant pain for years. With the Internet I can easily find information about this, but it’s so much better to read the experiences of others. I just want to thank you guys for being so open about this process. It gives me hope as I continue recovering from my surgery. You are all awesome!
Hi I can’t believe I am writing this right now because I am still in a state of shock. I’m a 31 year old who struggled with bulimia in my early-mid twenties. I then “cured” the hell of bulimia when I discovered crystal meth at 28. Because my parents have always had dental issues- I am no stranger dental procedures. Cavaties in my childhood, then painful emergency root canals in my twenties, 6 molar teeth extractions all due to bulimia. However my stupidity and biggest regret was ever picking up the most vial, disgusting, life wrecking drug.
Anyway, it had been about 4 years or so since I’d been to the dentist because I knew it would not be good (avoiding the inevitable and making it worse). What I was not prepared for was to hear that my dental issues are so complex and reached a state where root canals and crowns are not a viable option for a girl with only denti-cal coverage. I just can’t stop crying. I’ve been clean for 9 months and everyday is a struggle but THIS I don’t know if I’m strong enough to take anymore losses. So many dreams I’ve destroyed, my life had potential to be an amazing life. I’m extremely attractive (I know this sounds arrogant but it’s a strong part of my identity) I’m smart I’ve always done well in school and graduate with my BA in english lit. with a business minor in december. Just as I started to pick up the pieces of my life-this news may bewhat finally breaks me.
Has anyone else shared a similar experience? I’m feel so lost and just HATE myself for doing this to myself. If not, thanks for reading this post and letting me vent my feeling on “paper”.
I’ve been stalking this thread for the past few months in preparation for my extraction/partial denture. So I’ll share my story as well, for any other similar stalkers looking for what to expect.
I’m 30, and have pretty much always had bad teeth. We moved around a lot when I was a kid, and I don’t know that regular dental checkups were even a thing for me. I always took relatively good care of my teeth (brushing, flossing, mouthwash, etc), but a combination of poor genes and lack of professional care did me in. I’ve been losing back teeth for about the past decade or so, and just dealt with it, as I could still eat around them, and they weren’t really visible to others. But then I cracked a front tooth this past summer, and by October it was gone completely. There was my wake up call.
I made my first dentist appointment around the beginning of November. My dentist laid out a full treatment plan for me. Step one was a consult with an Oral Surgeon, beginning of December. Another stop in to my dentist to make impressions for an upper partial flipper. Appointment made for extraction of all necessary teeth (15 in total, including 4 wisdoms, because why not?), which was yesterday.
I was put under completely for my extraction, which was a godsend. I wasn’t able to get too nervous about the surgery itself, because I was so damn hungry! (You have to fast for at least 6 hours, and I didn’t wake up at 3 am to eat, so it was more like 14 hours). I was put on nitrous for a few minutes, just to relax me, then an IV line put in my hand with a sedative drip. I felt about 3 minutes of poking and grinding around in my mouth (either going under or coming out, or some combination of both) without any pain, the surgeon placed in the flipper (partial upper denture, temporary version), and it was done. My experience of time was about 15 minutes, my mom said it was more like 2 hours. So if you can go under, do it. I didn’t want to, as I thought my insurance wouldn’t cover it, but the surgeon said they would bill it to the insurance, and if it wasn’t paid, they would write it off. So they may be willing to work with you!
I have pretty good dental insurance through work- they only cover 50% of major care costs, but since it was a surgical extraction, medical picked up a lot of the rest. The oral surgeon I had to go to was out of network, so I had to pay the full consult visit ($82), and about $550 for the extraction. The temporary flipper I had to pay fully out of pocket, and it was around $650. I also have an HSA through my work insurance program, so luckily I had money set aside for such things- I don’t know that I could have afforded it otherwise.
As far as recovery goes, I’m not quite 24 hours out yet, but it’s going well. I iced and bit gauze on the uncovered extractions for about 3 hours, until the bleeding had mostly stopped. Went to the pharmacy to pick up some hydrocodone (Vicodin) to take as needed, and I haven’t needed any yet. Was able to drink without spilling all over myself at about 2 hours post. Able to eat about 4 hours post (applesauce is my favorite right now). Numbness in my lower lip persisted about 8 hours post (at least one corner was still numb when I went to sleep, but fine now).
Today, I have almost no pain. I’m taking Ibuprofen to control the swelling, but don’t need it for pain. No hydrocodone taken. I’m drinking just fine, and have been able to eat enough to not feel hungry, but soft food gets boring (applesauce, ice cream, drinkable soup, oatmeal, etc). I made some chicken soup yesterday, but can’t really chew the chicken yet.
The partial itself feels odd- the palette in back feels over large, but may just be because it’s new. I gag relatively easily, but it’s not trigering a gag reflex at all. One side doesn’t quite sit flush to my gum line, but I’m sure that’s something that can be fixed at my follow up this afternoon. The biggest irritation by far is that there is a stitch in my lower jaw (not replaced with anything) that wasn’t trimmed down enough, and is irritating the crap out of my tongue!
The partial looks very different to my old teeth, and I feel like my overbite is a bit more pronounced than it was before. However, it’s been months since I had both of my front teeth to compare, and years since anyone took a picture of me full on grinning, so that could all be in my head. Overall, I’m thrilled with the look, and it’s boosted my confidence even in the short time I’ve had them.
I’m so glad that I found this thread, as it was super helpful to me leading up to my surgery, and I hope than anyone else will find a bit of comfort in my story going into theirs. Thanks a bunch to the OP for starting it, and for everyone else who kept it going! I’ll check back too, if anyone has more questions.
For those of you who have had them for many years, how much has the bone loss altered your face over the years? I’m 28 and have been wanting them for years but my dentists refuse citing bone loss and would rather charge insane prices to save individual teeth. In the pictures they show you a face with teeth for the before and then a sunken in face with out the teeth after but obviously it’s going to look terrible because the dentures aren’t in the mouth in the second picture so I’m not buying that it dramatically alters the look of your face. Is it just scare tactics?
Dentist here, welcome aboard anonguy. The answer of course is it depends, but there can be a very great bone loss or fairly little. The longer one goes without teeth the more the bone loss. Also periodontal disease causes bone loss so folks that get dentures due to periodontal disease start off with less bone then people who get dentures due to tooth decay or trauma. Properly fitting dentures counteract the bone loss for appearances. Can’t do anything for looks when they are out.
If the reason the dentist won’t make you dentures is to charge you to fix individual teeth you need a new dentist. It is also possible that he/she doesn’t think they are appropriate in your situation. You need a discussion with the dentist to find out. A second opinion may be in order.
New here so glad I found this thread… Was feeling like my life is over, over dramatic, I know but reading all these posts has eased my mind… Thank you I am Ben 46 and losing all my teeth within the year…
I’m reading this thread for the first time, years from when it started, and it’s helping greatly.
I have Aspergers, and while most people can’t even tell it, textures, sounds, procedure processes, and pain tolerance are an infinitely huge deal to me – huge enough that I’ve been to a dentist exactly twice in my life, childhood included.
Just created a SD account for the sole purpose of saying thanks.
Knowing what to expect up front, play by play, is exactly what my oddly wired brain has to have and stew in for a while before my feet will take me out the door to any medical professional. Getting closer.
(Oh, and hoping that throwing the words “austim” and “autistic spectrum” into the thread helps more people like me find this.)
My son, “Dweezil”, is 21 and has high functioning autism. He was fine with the dentist until one day, when he was 13 or so, he needed a filling (not the first one he’d had), and he just REFUSED to open his mouth.
That dentist was the one who got me past the sheer terror (well-earned) of dental work with careful use of better living through chemistry. I’ve posted about that in other threads (a combination of oral sedation and nitrous oxide have been nearly miraculous to me) - but she refused to try any of that with Dweezil and wanted us to go to a full-on near-hospital-setting practice - that would have charged about 3,000 dollars for a dental cleaning and filling.
We felt that was waaaay overkill for our kid, and we actually talked to him about it. He was shocked at the figure. Luckily we found a pediatric / special needs specialist who could do the work just with Valium and nitrous, and that got Dweezil past that bit of stubbornness. He’s since taken charge of making his own dental visits - even went for a filling by himself recently.
Anyway - I absolutely advise you to call around (or have a trusted family member or friend call for you) to find a practice that is willing to work with your own sensory issues. You could ask around the local special-needs community for referrals.
Some things to consider:
Schedule an appointment to talk with the dentist, a time when you don’t even have to open your mouth (er, except to talk!!) unless you feel like it. That’ll give you a chance to feel out how their practice works, and how good they may be about working with you. If they won’t do that, they are absolutely NOT the right practice for you!! I did that with the dentist who introduced me to sedation/nitrous - actually she did check my teeth but I probably could have opted out of that if I’d been really stressed. Then we sat down - in an office, not a dental chair - and talked about options. She was stubborn though - refused to consider my suggestion of simply knocking me out with a ballpeen hammer :D.
Pharmaceuticals: oral and/or IV sedation are a possibility, though consider whether you’ve ever had anything similar and how you might react. A friend’s daughter, for example, went into panic mode with nitrous - while my daughter was a “happy drunk”. I personally get briefly panicky as it takes effect but that’s about 20 seconds, and I know what’s happening, and I know that very shortly I’ll get veeeerrrrrryyyyy relaxed. Not giggly - though I had the staff cracking up when I heard them say something I felt needed to be answered, and mimicked writing on my hand until they got the idea and gave me a pen and pad to write on. Evidently I managed well enough, even stoned and with eyes closed, because I heard them read what I’d said and they responded to it.
Anyway - I’ve since graduated from oral sedation + nitrous to just nitrous (except for really major stuff) as a result of several good experiences in a row - because for me, the anxiety worsens the pain, which worsens the anxiety… and the good experiences have REALLY helped with the fear. Just nitrous may reduce pain directly, but I think it mainly works by reducing anxiety and therefore the anxiety/pain cycle - and you are OK to drive just a few minutes after it’s done.
Working on the sensory issues as much as possible. The first big session I had, with nitrous and oral sedation, I was in the chair for 5 hours - no joke. The room was cool, and they covered me with a heavy blanket, which as you probably know can be very soothing. I also had my iPod with earbuds - gave me something other than dental sounds to focus on, but didn’t block my hearing too much so they could communicate with me. Wear your most comfortable clothing - if you have issues with tags, for example, but can normally shrug it off, don’t try to do so that day. Wear sweatpants or whatever - hell, wear pajamas if it’ll help. They won’t laugh (and again if they do, run like hell because they are NOT the right practice).
Once they’ve done an initial exam, they will probably have a plan for things that need to be done. If your teeth need a few fillings, you may want to consider going for it all at once with a lot of medication on board, even go the IV sedation route as we nearly had to with my son, if only that once.
Consider time of day. If you think the whirring of someone else getting a tooth filled might bug your ears (it’s definitely something that ramps up my stress-o-meter), ask them to schedule you really early or really late, whenever there’s less chance of hearing that (and of course earbuds or even over-the-ear phones might help).
Consider the equipment they use for cleaning. At our dentist, some staff use a high-pressure water jet for all the scaling around the gums, others use the old fashioned metal scraper which I loathe. As far as rinsing / spitting, they no longer have spit sinks, instead they use a suction thingy. They’re forever telling me to close my mouth around that thing. Well, I’ve got asthma, and even a turtleneck that is too tight sets off a brief panic even though I really CAN breathe perfectly well. Suction is even worse. I’ve made it clear to them we will put the tip at my mouth and I will spit into it. So consider that, and tell them to work with you to see if suction bugs you and if so, try something different (like spitting - or letting you handle the suction thingy, which to me is less panic-inducing).
If you need something like a crown, many practices now have equipment in place where you can have it all done on the same day (mine does NOT, unfortunately). It saves a trip, and if a dental visit is stressful, you want to reduce trips.
Also: and this may come off as sexist, but consider a female dentist. I have a not-that-small personal sample size (5 male primary dentists; 2 female; 3 male oral surgeons, 3 male endodontists, and a close friend just saw a female dentist). It may well just be a matter of the fact that when I was growing up, female dentists were rare, now they’re more common - and the technology and methods have improved, a LOT, but I’ve had better experiences with the two females. The two I’ve been to have been VERY diligent about controlling pain (as has my friend’s dentist), whereas some of the guys would seem to expect me to tough it out.
Plus, most women have smaller hands - which has got to be a good thing when fumbling around with someone’s mouth!
Give yourself some leeway in case you get there and can’t go through with whatever they have planned. I went once to have them check something with one of the multiple crowns they’d started, and it turned out they were ready to install one of the final crowns - which I was NOT expecting, and I freely admit my brain went into RUN AWAY mode, and I bolted. I came back a couple weeks later and got the crown installed, no problem.
Be prepared to be your own advocate, as well. When my wouldn’t-use-ballpeen-hammer dentist sold her practice to another woman, the first time I had to have a filling there, I had to insist on nitrous; she wasn’t going to offer it. I pointed out that it really was best for BOTH of us if I was loopy. and she sort of shrugged and went with the flow. Other than that she’s been great about pain management (and it was fine that time after I made things clear). It really IS best for her if I’m loopy - she doesn’t have to deal with me tense, terrified, and jumping at every little thing, which has got to make it easier on her and faster, as well.
When I’ve had permanent crowns placed (a week or so after the initial drilling / molding is done), they also try to not give me novocaine since they aren’t drilling. Well, I don’t care - it sometimes hurts me, and by golly you are GOING to give me that shot before you do anything.
The oral surgeon who did both of my dental implants had to do some work after one that involved some novocaine. I told him he had to use the topical gel first - he wasn’t going to, otherwise. A friend of a friend had told an oral surgeon, “you MUST have my friend in the room with me before I wake up”. They didn’t. She came to, still loopy, and PANICKED - and apparently it got ugly. Had they listened to her, she’d have awakened and been fine.
So, know what your options are beforehand and don’t be afraid to be a “jerk” if you need to. As you said, ou’re taking the first step by learning about the processes and the options.
On reading: golly, that was quite a brain dump I spewed - hopefully some of it’s helpful.
Oh, and I love the user name but you gotta lay off the taffy apples, they’re hell on your teeth :D.
I am so happy to have found this. I am a 26 year old female who has had problems her entire life with teeth. I’ve seriously probably had 8 root canals and I can’t even imagine how many fillings etc. I hate my teeth but I still have my front ones and some back ones and due to terrible gum disease which I’ve never seemed to get under control, I know one day I’ll have dentures. I was told by my dentist at 15 years old, “Victoria, you are going to need dentures by 30. Be prepared for it or save for implants”.
Now I haven’t been to a dentist is 4 years. And as my teeth break off and decay and literally my gums sink in, I am getting depressed.
It’s like man, I brush 2 times a day, floss at least once and still I have this problem.
I have always considered myself an attractive woman. I know I have more good characteristics about me than looks and I’m not trying to sound like an a$$ but I am so worried once I get dentures there goes my love life. Who will want me with dentures? I guess the self esteem part is gonna be the worst. Can I ask has your face sunken in at all? I keep hearing horror stories.
I am asking now because as I sit here with a throbbing toothache, orajel and Aleve by my side, I am preparing for my dentures soon. I am thinking next year. June the latest.
I made an appointment to get this tooth removed. I feel like my face is going to explode from the pain and it won’t stop. It’s all I can think about is the pain, I need relief.
Anyways, I’m in sales and i am so worried I am also gonna lose my savvy speaking. How long for you before you could speak normally or at least kind of normal again? I am gonna take two weeks vacation when I get my teeth pulled to get used to it. I will tell only my supervisor, my mom maybe a few friends and that’s it. I do have insurance through work, not the best but does provide about 2k which is pretty awesome.
again thank you for sharing this! Everyone’s words of encouragement are really helping me.
I took a week off when I had mine done, and was able to speak well enough to be understood by the time I went back to work (6 days post-op). I had to speak more slowly, and my mouth still felt foreign, but my communication wasn’t hampered by it. I also live alone, so didn’t have much practice speaking while I was recovering. If you live with others you will be forced to communicate with, I think you would get used to it quicker.
My face hasn’t sunken in at all, you really can’t tell while they’re in. Obviously it’s a different story when they’re out, but I never take them out around others (again, YMMV if you share a home). I’ve only had mine for 5 months at this point, but several people have told me that I appear happier/more confident, and I agree with them. Best decision I ever made regarding my health. They were obviously not a magic potion, and there are still things about myself that I dislike/am self conscious about, but it’s much easier to fake confidence when you’re not afraid to smile
I do live alone. But I have family nearby, I think I’ll go there post op once I have my temps put it and all my teeth extracted. They all know that it is getting me down so badly. Like seriously the depression the pain has caused makes me into a different person. My sales are down due the pain. Its really sad.
I know that in the long run this will be the right decision. It’s just facing myself without them in, oh man that’s gonna be tough. But it will be nice to put on my red lipstick and walk into a sales meeting smiling instead of barely grinning to hide the teeth problem.
As for men, well. At the end of the day I’m just afraid I’ll be a coward and not tell them and then they leave cuz I wasn’t honest. So I’ll need to be.
I wouldn’t care at all if a man I was dating had them, i would understand but maybe that’s because I know the experience and the pain.
Ive spent the whole afternoon, reading this posts, I am 31 and have always had bad teethe , parents do as well… I have several broken / cracked and un savable teethe , dealt with infections pain etc…I’ve had enough . the dentist is recommending dentures. I do have two bottom canine teethe that are savable I have heard it would be way better to do a partial on the bottom, and its cheaper to do a full upper but I do have a couple front teethe only that are savable but not many. I currently have a huge overbite and am scared how the dentures will fit and look, my bad teethe have always been a huge insecurity of mine, and I am happy to see a lot of people are happy w the way there’s look… any advice ? tips ? I am freaking out and have a fear of the dentist, anyone know if there is an correction for the overbite w dentures.
Munecaz, I wanted to let you know that if you have a bad overbite, dentures are not only possible but they can be made in such a way that it more or less corrects the problem when your dentures are in.
I had 28 teeth extracted last October, wore immediate dentures, top and bottom, until today when I received my permanent set. My problem was periodontal disease and loosening teeth. I had two dentists advise that full dentures were probably best. I am a 49 year old female.
I suffered with a horrible overbite and buck teeth in front my whole life. My teeth, much to my chagrin, were virtually indestructible until the gum disease took hold. I hated the appearance of my teeth! But believe me, I didn’t get dentures for the heck of it, I was worried about having to go to work with teeth that would soon start falling out.
Well, to say I am very pleased today is an understatement. Yes, getting the extractions was an ordeal and the immediate dentures were challenging for me and seemed too large for my mouth. But I did it, my smile is beautiful and healthy, and no more buck teeth or overbite. I think you will do just fine…go talk to the dentist and get more than one opinion and/or treatment plan. You won’t regret it.
Thank you very much for your comments , its putting my mind a lot more at ease ,I have another appointment next week and I have decided to go ahead and get the dentures done. Scared and Nervous… but I really think its whats best and I have seen and read so much ,that im sure my new smile will beautiful.
I stumbled upon this website and thread when looking for other people’s experience with mini implants post extractions since that’s what I’m dealing with right now.
I just wanted to share something I’ve found helps deal with infections and helps restore bone. I found this out too late for me to stop the dental problems to where they needed extractions, but I can do something to help slow or stop chronic infection and jaw osteoporosis. Look up info on the web about Dr. Jerry Tennant’s BioModulator (it’s a Scenar-type of device with proprietory frequencies) or LET Medical Cosmodic Scenar (and there are other scenars on the market for less price, but these are among the best made) --they really do work for both reducing pain and bringing down inflammation, brusing and swelling (Scenars work fast and incredibly well to reduce pain and Cosmodic is excellent for reducing inflammation and contusions). Of course see your dentist about any infection or abnormal pain and inflammation but this may help in between visits and post surgery.
Among other things, these tools restore electrical voltage to cells. Where there’s pain, physical trauma of any kind, there’s low voltage. The standard western diet is typically low voltage (acidic pH, low oxygen and vitamin and mineral depleted). These tools give microcurrents and frequencies at an effective level that can help greatly to bring the cellular vibration up to optimal levels so the body can heal and restore itself (and no, I’m not affiliated with any of these companies).
Look into cold laser, red light LED or infrared therapy to help the cells’ mitochondria repair and and create more energy to regenerate tissue and the body overall. And look into PEMF (pulsed electromagnetic frequency therapy) to help restore bone mass (and help with other health conditions)–this has been proven in many health science case studies. Yes, all these things can be expensive to buy, but some companies will rent them and there are a growing number of practitioners who are using them.
Another easy to find, much more inexpensive and also effective tool/therapy is biomagnetic therapy/paired magnetic therapy. I’ve found that paired magnet therapy is among the best tools for reducing dental pain and inflammation.
Don’t give up! Some of this is fairly new to countries other than Russian Federation. Your dentist probably doesn’t know of what’s all available that can help you.
I suffered with stained,broken,missing,infected teeth for years until it got to the point that I hated Dentists and the teeth remaining weren’t worth saving.
So I took the plunge and had everything extracted at once. I was fortunate and found a great oral surgeon to do it. Clean office, understanding staff, all questions answered and fully explained.
I was fully sedated and remember nothing of that process except going to sleep and then waking up. With a warm blanket on, comfortable clothes etc.
Because I had an excess of bone growth on the inside of my lower jaw that had to be removed also. I was fortunate and had a family member that could stay with me for the first week and help out.
No it wasn’t any fun and healing took time. Lots of soft foods. I went back to work a week later, toothless. I was self conscious of course but they knew the situation.
Because of the bone growth on my lower jaw, an implant supported denture was my only option for the bottom. Expensive yes!. All said and done I spent 23K for the implants and top and bottom dentures.
I was also toothless for roughly 16 months while waiting for my gums and the implants to heal, fitting of dentures etc etc.
I had the denturist let me pick the color, teeth, etc, didn’t want neon white, it wouldn’t have suited me. He even put a few in slightly twisted to look more like my old teeth did.
I’ve had the full set for over a year now and I AM HAPPY!
I can eat most anything I want to, corn on the cob is a challenge but I will get there. I can smile, talk fine and feel 100% better about my appearance.
So in closing I’ll just say, yes it is an ordeal, with challenges to get over, but I wish I had done it sooner.