scaredstiff70

Hi MMMarie...
Yes I had the reline done yesterday. It took a while, and I had to do the top twice...hygenist error...how fun! It went well, although I did not like the reline material on the top...it started to run down my throat both times, which is very un-nerving to say the least. It hardened before it could slip all the way down my throat, but it stopped at the "gag" spot...so for a few minutes, I was really trying to concentrate on breathing in and out my nose...wasn't easy. The bottoms were a cake-walk compared to the top. One setting of the reline material, a few snips to cut off the overhang, and ta-da...it was done.
My bite was WAYYYY off, so I think that's why the hygenist had to do the uppers twice. She said something about not putting enough stuff in the back of the upper, so she did it again. Oh what fun. More gook in the back of my throat.

At any rate, it was well worth some discomfort. She had to press down pretty firmly on my gums to set the reline material, which was uncomfortable, but, I lived. I know why they wait so long now to do them...1)your gums shrink so much, so fast, and 2)had I done this even a week ago, the tenderness in my gumms when they press firmly to set the material, would have been enough to knock me out of the chair! (For such a little lady, she sure was strong!)

The fit is SO much better now....although I do still need adhesive on the lowers. My front ridge is much lower than the rest of the bottom gums, and it's causing the front of the denture to float a bit still. I don't mind using adhesive at all if I can eat normally. And I know that will be taken care of when my gums finally slow down in shrinkage, when I get the hard reline. In the end, they will fit like a glove, it's just getting to that point that seems to take forever. I will probably need another in about a month or so according to the dentist. She said there's still alot of shrinking to take place.
It's quite interesting to see how much healing has taken place over just this first month...
when I looked at the upper plate where my gum tissue actually sits on the denture now...I was shocked to see such big gaps between my gums and the denture sides. No wonder they were falling out!

Thanks for asking about my appt. I hope you are doing ok...and not worrying too much?

Best wishes,
scaredstiff70
PS: Forgot to mention about the fragments...
yes, I did pull two out this week alone. The first one was painful, but the second I didn't feel a thing. I wasn't going to do the second one since the first hurt too bad, but, with getting the reline done, I wanted it out so it wouldn't interfere with the procedure. It sure wasn't as big as it felt, neither were. And, my father told me I can expect to pull them out for months to come. The dentist said that too. Small price to pay for being able to eat, laugh, and smile again I think.
Good luck to you, and please let us know how you're doing, and how your procedure went, ok?


[This message has been edited by scaredstiff70 (edited 05-23-2003).]