• Dental Phobia Support

    Welcome! This is an online support group for anyone who is has a severe fear of the dentist or dental treatment. Please note that this is NOT a general dental problems or health anxiety forum! You can find a list of them here.

    Register now to access all the features of the forum.

Successful denture journey

L

lauralou32

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 12, 2013
Messages
108
Location
USA
Hi just an update on my denture journey. I have had my new upper denture for about 3 weeks now! My gums have heeled and I have not been back to the dentist as of yet! I will be going to have my 5 remaining lower teeth cleaned for which I have a partial, so I will get an adjustment of my upper full denture. So here's my status: my lower partial fits great no problems. My upper is loose but has good suction. As long as I eat small bites and soft food I'm fine. I have not attempted any adhesive as of yet. Will adhesive really make a difference? Will it stop food and liquids from getting under my denture? Also, the only person that knows I have fake teeth is my husband. I catch myself feeling self conscious about my new teeth, although they look very natural and are not bright white, I feel people stare at them when I'm talking. I didn't smile for 24 yrs because of bad teeth and now I feel embarrassed like people know there fake. Has anyone else felt this way in the early stages? Other than that I'm really doing great! I've come so far ??!
 
I had extractions and got an immediate upper partial denture back in November.
It fitted superbly at first and then about a week and a half post extractions it became looser until at just under two weeks it started moving about and would sit out of line.
That weekend I bought a few different adhesives even though my dentist told me not to use adhesive - I badly needed something though.

I tried Seabond first - it was way too much at the stage I was at - very adhesive but fiddly and it gave me a cracking headache as it was just too tight!
Next I tried powder adhesive - it was perfect for me at that time and worked great until the beginning of January.
In January though I noticed it wasn't holding so well and I couldn't add enough of the powder to make it work and I switched up to Fixodent.
I'm still using Fixodent right now.
I'm OK to go a day spent at home without adhesive but to be honest, my plate moving about is uncomfy and distracting and at this stage it moves far too much for me to speak properly or have much choice in what I eat.

The Fixodent gets me through all day really well though with no issues (no issues initially and now only minor issues) of wobbles or movement at all plus it kind of 'fills up' the gap between my plate and my gums where my gum has shrunk so words like 'sh' and 'ch' or 'tion' all sound clearer instead of sounding like there is air whooshing through that gap.
The Fixodent also stops food and drinks going under the plate.
Having said that though things are getting a little looser as time has gone on - but it's still pretty good.

At the stage you are at I would recommend a powder adhesive but to get Fixodent in for the time when your gums shrink back - it will happen! It sort of begins to feel a little different and then it gets more noticeable for 2-3 days then boom - it all feels wrong - which is why I have a few types in - ones to progress up to if I need them.
Most shrinkage happens in the first 6 months and then the following year and a half but I am getting a reline done at 6 months and expect things will slow down quite a lot at that point.
If I need another at the 2 year point then that's fine but I think 2 years for a first reline is a tad long to wait.

I would recommend you try practicing with adhesive on a weekend so that you have time - a couple of tries and you'll know what you're doing and know how much adhesive is right for you.
 
Thank you so much for all of the advice!! I really appreciate your help!!
 
You're welcome!

I hope it helps!

It's am on going journey of trail and error - has been for me anyway! lol!

I had the dentist call earlier this week to change my check up appointment as my dentist has a conference. When I originally booked it I said I wanted to talk about a reline - they said I could but that a reline would be two years down the line after getting my immediate dentures.
I reminded them when that I still wanted to talk about it and once I explained where I am currently at with how loose the plate is they agreed to it right away so I'm getting my reline in May! Yay! ;D
I have no doubt I will need adhesive at some point after the reline but at least for a while I should be adhesive free and also when I do go back to using it I'll need to use a lot less.

It's also not good for your health to have a loose fitting plate so depending on how fast your gums shrink and if you feel as I did that things are getting too loose then book your check up and mention the possible need for a reline like I did.
It's going to cost me £200 but it's worth it for how loose they are without adhesive right now and if I need another reline 2 years later then so be it.
Plus there is another thing - even though I have extreme dental phobia it's making me keen to go back to my dentist!
 
Back
Top