Went to my dentist today and it sounds like I should probably get an upper plate. Apparently I need work done in every tooth....a couple are beyond repair and need pulled.....and a couple have something he called internal resorption (which has something to do with the nerves and the roots) and definately has to come out.

I'm in my 40s and actually, the dentist I used to have told me for years and years that this day would come. My teeth are very very soft, and it seems that no matter how well I take care of them, I have problems that go on and on and on........and quite frankly, I am sick of it.

He did say that he could do a upper partial denture, but that down the road, I would probably be looking at a full upper denture, so I'm thinking I may as well just get it down now. I am a bit of a freak when it comes to the dentist - I just hate it! I really do. So perhaps the best thing for me to do is just to do it all now, wouldn't you say? My front teeth have always been kinda ugly.....well not really ugly....just not hard and strong and white!

So any advice, you guys? I could really use some about now. http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/frown.gif Is it really that bad? or might it be a dream come true? Does some of you have dentures, and are they really that bad? or are you happy that you got them?

Hoping for replies.
Thanks.
Marie

i have upper dentures and in the process of getting lower ones also. and to be honest it really isnt as bad as some may think. of course they arent even comparable to real teeth. but i dont have a problem with them...it will take some getting used to and stuff and they will feel awkward for awhile but if u can be patient u wont be as uncomfortable. i say go for the full set for partials are more expensive. and they are expensive be warned...but worth it in the end.

Marie

Go for full upper denture. I had a partial denture and I ended up with cavities in the back of the remaining teeth just below the gumline that weren't spotted until I was in a lot of pain with abscesses and infection. I have just had the last five removed after 4 weeks of intense pain and illness while I was waiting,
I just wish I had been able to have the chance of a full denture years ago.

Fudge

[This message has been edited by Fudge (edited 11-26-2002).]

Wow. I was really happy to read your replies. I was sure that any reply I got would say .....hold on to your teeth as long as you possibly can..... It's actually a relief to hear someone say they're really not that bad (dentures).

http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

hey! i havent been to this board in a looooong time because i havent had any dental problems in a while! you see i got full dentures last march and really they have been so great. I had huge problems with my teeth... and had to get dentures.... at age 15. Im sure that our problems were different but struggling with dental problems never can be fun and it was really pure hell before i got dentures. Now i have SO much more confidence, like i cannot even explain, and i just feel like i have a lot less problems now. If you really are unhappy with your current situation, dentures could be really great. They can be a hassle at times... like when i had to go to camp for 6 weeks this past summmer hehe.. but i really appreciate the dentures. a LOT! I hope this helps, tell us how it goes!

I'm another one scared to death of dentures, AND of dentists!! And I'm being told by all but one dentist that I do not have any other option.

I was brought up taking meticulous care of my teeth as were my parents -- yet they both had dental problems their whole lives and partials, crowns, dentures etc.... and the dentists I've seen tell me it has in part (for me) to do with decay yet I can't imagine when I compare my dental habits with that of others, that I'm THAT much off track? And that my genetics do not play a role?

It's costing a fortune in money and anxiety and marital stress and professional and personal stress, coping with this, and how much I am fearing dentures.

I had my back teeth and two other teeth in the front/side pulled and have seen how severe the bone loss is and the serious "dents" in the gum because of that, and so I'm really afraid of just what this kind of bone loss will mean for me. I'm 39 and don't want to look like a shriveled apple-person in 15 or 20 years! Bone loss in the jaws results in such shortening of the face as the jaw alignment is altered,... it just seems like it will be a big price to pay yet again?

The thought of pulling my teeth out in front of my husband and leaving them in a jar is just too freaky for me. But then, all my whining, crying, and being in pain isn't exactly doing us much good either. This has really affected our lives so much.

I do not have dentures "yet" but every one in my family does. Grandparents, Dad, sister, aunts, uncles. They all had to get them in their 20's and that is a very young age because of just plain rotten teeth that could not be helped or were worked on and ended up having to be pulled any way. They do not take them out and put them in jars at night like my grandparents did. They wear them 24 hours at day awake or sleeping. I asked both my young aunts questions about them and they both say they did not want false teeth but had to get them and they are not so bad and they got use to them and they are alot better than hurting rotten teeth. One aunt had to go thru 2 pair of teeth before she got a good fit but says they are comfortable and she does not think about them. My sister is now going thru the process of getting dentures. By the way after they got dentures their faces looked much better cause it fills out the sunken jaw look where missing teeth and bone loss were. Maybe this helps answer some of the questions asked.......

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Sher

Aaghhh YES that is IT! It's the whole sunken jaw, misalignment, and like those little dolls they sell of "witches" made of carved APPLES! It's horrible!

I don't understand how they avoid it because just from the bone loss I've witnessed myself with my back teeth, with ALL my teeth pulled I can only imagine how much more progressive this loss would be!

They leave them in 24/7? I thought they were supposed to be taken out?

I knew about refitting, because of the bone loss and how the roof of the mouth will also shrink, several RE-fits will be required for the rest of your life.

I have a flipper, for #7 top tooth, and just that small amount of plastic affects my gag reflex so much I cannot eat or sleep with it, and take it out as much as I can (ie: furthering the whole non-social thing). From what I've seen by the dentists I've seen, the full dentures look like they are pretty, uhm,....well like they cover a lot of tissue. Despite reports of "adjusting" to the feeling and eventually not gagging, by comparison I just can't imagine it to be so.

believe it or not u do adjust after a few weeks...then the gagging goes away and its not there all the time...just till u r used to them...i also do not take mine out ever except to clean them...i do it to prevent wrinkles around my mouth and just because its uncomfortable not having them in. but if ur patient u do get used to them in a few weeks...yes there is shrinkiage with ur gums and realignment is usually needed every few years or so. like i said they are no comparison to real teeth but at least there are no more toothaches and its a whole lot better than haveing no teeth at all.

How old are you? How long have you had them? You sleep in them too? I thought they advised against that. I am dealing with other health issues (and my research is showing interesting links there, as well) and I guess I'm being a bit of a coot when it comes to taking my teeth out to have medical tests done and surgeries. Ack.

I suppose I need to grow up about it, I just didn't want to grow old in the same time

I'm new here......just thought I would jump in. I am in my 40's, and getting dentures after the first of the year. I'll probably get a full set at the top, and a partial at the bottom. I had gum disease, my teeth started just getting loose and falling out. I've got a couple of teeth at the bottom that the dentist talked like he could probably save.
I'm thinking probably dentures will be better than what I had.......I was getting to where I couldn't eat a lot of things.....because of the shape my teeth were in.

well i am 26 and i got them when i was ohhhhh 23 i think it was. no i dont take them out at night but like u said they do advise u to do so...but i cant stand the feeling of having em out and i do it in hopes that itll prevent wrinkles round the mouth. my whole family has them...my teeth started going bad when i was a kid no matter what i did to prevent bad teeth..alot of it was hereditary. alot of ppl fear having dentures..for they arent as good as real teeth..but they are ok once u get used to em. also it gives u a little more confidence and enables u to smile without worrying about ppl seeing bad teeth. youre not being an old coot about it...nobody wants to feel old. i had the same worry about taking them out in front of hubby also,,but after the first few times he didnt even notice..well i mean u can tell but he didnt show it. and if he made fun of me or whatever there would be problems lol. he met me when i had horrible teeth and feels good that i have much more confidence so its sort of a superficial thing if he were to make judgment. anyways im rambling...but i thought id give my input.

Thanks Steph, that's exactly how I feel. I had dental problems when I met my hubby, but at least I still had teeth. Now it just feels sucky. And bear with me, it's my turn to ramble, - the sucky, depressing, emotional part is that it feels especially embarassing because this isn't what I want for him, either. It's like, we always want to stay the way we were, (within reason, I mean), and it feels wierd to develop these embarassing issues after marriage. I'd like to think he knew what he was getting, ya know?

He said to me he IS getting what he thought: A human being, and all that entails, and that he'd rather see me eat and smile and be comfortable with dentures, than whine and complain and not eat and not smile and avoid life with what little remains of my "real teeth."

He's so logical, isn't he?

So why am I having such a hard time?

I have had nightmares since I was a very, very small child about my teeth falling out. I've taken care of my teeth, always saw the dentist,... so I'm having a pity party for myself because I feel this is undeserved and unfair, but more than anything, it's out of my control.

When it's a problem you can control, like say, a behavior or habit, it's one thing. But when you start losing your body parts?? I told my doctor that this is probably what it feels like to men (and women) when they lose their hair.

This is so hard.

Ditto to merrida! I'm in the same situation, Scared to death of getting them, but It must be done, can't have another Premature delivery because of them, and they do give me such pain. I'm 21 and been married 10 months.......... My poor hubby, can't stand the thought of him seeing me with out them........ He said that he wants to see me more confident about my smile and with out the pain, Aren't they great to us ladies? They love us even with our TEETH!!!

men can be nice sometimes lol. when facing removal of all your teeth it is imperative to get 2nd and even 3rd opinions and make your decision from there. best wishes to all with your teeth. pinkcat

Yeah lil, I hear ya there. It's such a huge factor to me as well, the whole having your hubby see you thingie, even with his words of support and encouragement and his telling me he'd rather see me with dentures and smiling and happy and eating, than to see me like this.

But I'll gag with them, I'll be embarassed by them, I know that I'll be depressed (and some will say that this attitude is setting me up for failure, but I'm going cogent and coherent and upfront with knowing my self, my body, my attitude, and what makes me tick, what's important to me, and how I react to different things, and with this I realize the truth of what will be IF I go through with dentures).

And just like lil, I'm in a new marriage, only 3 years. Not as new as hers, but it feels very new to me, and vulnerable.

I'm sure that they take cues from us and if we just went forward accepting dentures feeling great that THEY would feel great, but our concern, expressed woes and trepidation come across as insecurity and are unappealing, and THAT probably has more of an impact on their reaction -- if only we were confident and positive about the move,....

But I am not! I don't want them.

I've already had 6 opinions,... and at $70-$100 per wack just to have someone look at me and tell me the same thing but not do any work,.... plus XRays,... I'm going broke not getting work done.