Next Monday I am getting my first set of full, upper, dentures. I vaguely know about denture adhesives and soaking tubs and so forth, but I am wondering if someone could give me a basic list of supplies I need to have on hand before the big day. Recommendations for particular brands would be helpful too.
Thanks,
Bob
Upper dentures that fit properly usually have no need for adhesive. Cleaning the stuff off can be a chore, so I don’t use it. Once in awhile, I’ll have to take them out to rinse off, and sometimes it’s difficult to break the suction. As far as cleaning, soaking them overnight with one of the cleaning tablets is all I do. I’ve found no major difference with any of the name brands.
Poli-Grip seems to work best for me (when I can be bothered to use it) but it seems that everyone’s mouth is different. Dentures are truly an exercise in trial and error, and you’ll probably have to try a few different things to find what suits you best.
Some basics that you’ll want:
Adhesive powder, strips, or gel
Soaking tub
Denture toothbrush (trust me, your regular toothbrush isn’t nearly efficient enough!)
Every soft food known to man (Seriously, you’ll be dying for “real” food long before your mouth can handle it!)
A sense of humor (perhaps most important)
Nothing can really prepare you for what it’s like to wear dentures. Your mouth will have to relearn simple things like talking and chewing, and there wll be times when you think you shoulda just kept your original teeth. It’ll pass, eventually. I’ve had uppers and lowers for two and a half years now, and if I can do it, anyone can!
freekalette, I am not sure what you mean about soft foods. Do you mean prior to having dentures or after the dentures are put in? I was really hoping to chew real food almost immediately. 
Bob
I think what she meant was your mouth may be sore for awhile – assuming you’re having some teeth pulled as well as getting the dentures fitted.
That wasn’t a problem with my first husband. He had all his teeth pulled when he was 19, but he didn’t get dentures for several months. By then, the soreness was gone. Heck, he was eating steak without any teeth. Tough steak.
DO NOT feed your dentures after midnight. Bad things will happen, just like in that movie.
If you do need adhesive, I’m partial to Fixodent. It’s not grainy like the other stuff. Don’t use a whole line of it – just a dab here and there.
You might want to take a quick look at your teeth after you’ve eaten. For some reason I see food particles stuck on dentures more than I do on natural teeth. (Didn’t mean to gross anybody out there.)
ETA: Har! A pun!
Thanks for the replies. I’m heading to Walgreen’s tomorrow to check out what they have and your recommendations will be taken into consideration.
Bob
With the soft foods, I just meant that it takes some time to A- get used to having this plastic thing in your mouth that wasn’t there before, and B- learn how to hold your tongue (it’s tricksy!), also C- Any little crumb that gets up under your teeth will feel like a mountain of broken glass.
FTR, my first food with dentures was crunchy tacos. After three years of teeth so messed up that I couldn’t eat them at all, and close to a year without any teeth, I was dying for some yummy taco goodness. That said, I don’t reccommend it. I spent more than twice the time it took me to actually eat the three tacos running into the bathroom to dig out the aforementioned broke-glass mountains. (I made a pun, geddit?)
When I got them, my dentist told me to try my best to keep the dentures in without adhesive because that gunk is messy and sort of tastes funny.
He was right. I can’t stand that crap. It’s not too hard to hold them in without adhesive. I mean, it might take a little bit of practice, but it’s well worth it, IMHO.
ETA:
This is very true. A crumb so small that it’s barely visible can prove to be sheer agony. Be careful with Doritos and similar foods.