How does ANYONE wear a denture??

Before I start my rant, let me first sincerely applaud every person who DOES wear dentures. I am in awe of you all and I am not worthy of being on the same website as you!Seriously. How does anyone wear one of these medieval torture devices?

Hi Franca! As someone who has worn a full set of dentures for exactly two weeks today I guess in answer to your first question (How does anyone wear them)...you do what you need to do. I had horrible teeth that I was ashamed of and my only option was dentures. I simply cannot afford implants and my insurance will not pay for them. (Insurance only paid $1500 of my total on extractions & dentures..which was a very small percent of the bill.) Would I rather have beautiful natural teeth? Of course. But..not an option now.
Dentures are not that bad. I actually forget I'm even wearing them. But I will say that I am an extremely stubborn person and when I make up my mind I am going to do something..I do it. Learning to wear dentures was simply one of those things I knew I HAD to do..so I did. *shrug*

The Nitrous Oxide should help you with the gagging problem. Don't be afraid of it..you'll be very relaxed and it gives you sort of a floating sensation. The dental assistant told me not to cross my ankles/legs in the chair because that can affect your gag reflex. The dentist said putting a bit of salt on the end of your tongue helps relax the gag reflex. No clue why..and since I didn't have a problem gagging I didn't try it..but you could keep it in mind.

Don't be too hard on yourself. It's all a learning process for us all. Keep your eye on the prize (a beautiful smile!) and you'll be fine.

Thanks terrifiedwoman.

Yeah, if you don't gag then sure you can wear dentures. I however have not been blessed in this way - hence my awe of people like you.

Franca, I LOVE your sense of humour. With that on your side, you can do ANYTHING, girl!

As for gagging, some do, some don't. My dental technician tells me it's all just "psychological", and probably for some people it is, but I've also read that some people have an exceptionally narrow throat cavity and this can cause gagging. I must have inherited it from my mother, she can't swallow a capsule without gagging. I can't gargle.

That said, I got upper dentures at age 16, and while I gagged on and off for the first day (but never vomited - I was gagging too often to eat so there was nothing in my stomach) I adjusted to them much easier and faster than I expected. I've now had them for 45 years and like TW says, I never even think about them being in there.

But now I'm trying to adjust to lowers, and that's been harder. Maybe because I'm older, or because my throat has narrowed, or maybe it's because I have a corn on my big toe - who knows?

Salt on the tongue sounds like a good idea TW, I've found over the past few days (after 4 weeks or more of trying to keep the lowers in for more than 30 seconds at a time) that putting a peppermint in my mouth tricks my tongue into thinking it's food and I can keep them in much longer. Not sure if you can do that with 2 dentures, a chalking gun, and sundry hands in your mouth - probably not a lot of room left in there, lol - but I'd be trying the salt on the tongue for sure. You also might try a medicated throat spray a few times before your next appointment - it tends to numb the back of the throat.

But if you have Nitrous Oxide, I'm sure you wont have any problems - with the bite registration OR the Nitrous Oxide. Just sit back and enjoy the experience and know it's all for a good cause.

I sympathise with you greatly Franca, but as I said, with that great sense of humour you'll get there. Who can laugh and gag at the same time, huh?

Haha thanks Sandy! I don't just have a dental phobia, I also have Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - dental procedures are a big trigger for me. Humour is how I cope - it's how I've been able to stop myself from becoming One (who) Fell INTO the Cuckoo's Nest instead of just flying over it.

my fave film of alllllll time!

Ronny

ronny55 said:

my fave film of alllllll time!

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so why doesn't that surprise me.