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Scared of coping with dentures

B

Beccah

Junior member
Joined
Feb 18, 2012
Messages
2
Location
Leicesterhire, England
I suffered from agoraphobia and depression for some yrs and during that time did not look after my teeth as I should have done (all my energy and focus was on looking after my children) as a result of this and chronic dental phobia I was left with a smile an ogre would not have found attractive at 25 yrs old! After 10yrs of living with this I plucked up the courage to try and get it sorted and had all my teeth removed under general anesthetic 4 weeks ago. I am in the process of having dentures made but am finding it all very scary I still don't like having things in my mouth and having the molds are almost unbearable. I don't wish to sound ungrateful as I am so thankfull it has been done and am looking forward to being able to smile again and laugh without covering my mouth but I am worried about how I will cope with them. If anyone has dentures I would really appreciate knowing if you found it easy to live with them talk and eat with them etc.
 
Hi Beccah. I think what you are feeling is quite normal for someone getting dentures. All of us had so many fears..and so many questions! And while people can reassure you, everyone's experience is different, so it's hard to go by what someone else went through.
I've had my dentures (upper and lower) for a little over 17 months now..and can honestly say it is the best thing I ever did. FINALLY I can smile with confidence and feel attractive doing it! No more awful breath either! :censored:
It does take some time to get used to them. Some folks adjust quicker than others. I had a difficult time talking clearly for maybe a week, but then it got easier and easier as my tongue found it's way around that new 'foreign object' that was sharing space in my mouth. You have to be patient learning to eat things as well..although being a lover of all things FOOD, I seemed to catch onto that pretty well. I still run across the occasional thing I can't master..like earlier this week I got totally stuck together trying to eat a Milk Dud. :giggle:
I do have a lengthy journal here..and I welcome you browsing through it. I shared the good, the bad, and the ugly..didn't hold anything back. You'll need to skip to page 11 to find when I actually got the dentures. There's a before and after pic..don't let it scare you. (Cannot BELIEVE I ever let my teeth get THAT bad!!)
Link to my journal: https://www.dentalfearcentral.org/forum/threads/terrifiedwomans-journal-journey.8696/

Best of luck to you..and try not to worry. It honestly is not as bad as you imagine it will be. :XXLhug:
 
Thank you for taking the time to write :) The pictures of before and after are amazing ( your dentures look great) made me wish I'd taken a picture of mine to remind myself how far I've come once this is all over. It was reassuring to hear how you coped and now I know if it's very hard during the 1st weeks I will get used them. Seeing yours , you can't tell they are dentures wich was another worry I had, Thank you again Beccah
 
You're most welcome Beccah. I remember when I first found this site I was SO scared..more scared than I've ever been in my life! So many people here helped me SO much..I'm happy to help others now.

I was afraid everybody would look at my dentures and instantly think "Oh..she has dentures!"..but not a single person has even given me a second look like that. People who knew me with the bad teeth all say if they didn't know I have dentures, they'd never guess. It sure is wonderful to finally be able to SMILE. :)
 
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