Concerned about supra-eruption due to delay in getting partial

[Anne2021]

I have been delaying getting a partial denture due to problems with a terrible taste in my mouth since getting two fillings 4/18/23. As I have tried to deal with this and figure out what to do, it kept delaying my moving forward on other fillings that my dentist wanted me to do before getting a partial denture. Now I am starting to panic that my unopposed teeth are supra-erupting. I've been so focused on what to do next and hoping every day that the taste will get better and I am so stressed about it all (as well as other stressors in my life) that some days I just did not feel that I could take the next step. Today it hit me that I lost the last molar on my lower left that was opposing teeth 13 and 14 more than 8 months ago and that I lost my lower right molars more than 5 months ago. (Besides my wisdom teeth, I have lost 2, 12, 15, 18, 19, 20, 30, and 31). Five of those were gone by 2019, but I lost #19 in mid-December 2022 and #30 and #31 in early March 2023. Now I am worried about 13, 14, and 3 (and maybe 4) due to no opposing forces for so long. I just started looking for answers (yes, online), and I'm finding information saying that most of the movement occurs in the first six months! Is that true?

My dentist told me that I probably had at least a year! I am also noticing that the gap between 13 and 14 has widened very recently. She had put a large composite filling in 13 and commented that it would help with the contact. There had been a large gap between the two where food got stuck. Now I noticed this week that when I floss there the contact is gone and the gap is wider again. Surely this means things are shifting, but what about supra-erupting. (The last time I saw her she also changed which teeth that she thought needed work and tried to convince me that I had it wrong, not her - no chance of that - with my phobia, I am totally honed in to which teeth she was planning to work on. Now I'm not sure I trust her competence).

How long will it take to get a partial made? Do I have to have the molds/forms to make the partial, or can it be done with digital images/pictures of my mouth? I am afraid of the molds in terms of gagging and even pulling out other fillings, crowns, or teeth. I'm in a panic now that every day the unopposed teeth are in increasing danger.

 

[Gordon]

I'm finding information saying that most of the movement occurs in the first six months! Is that true?

Like almost all biological things, there's no straight answer to that one, sorry... it kind of depends on many factors, age, sex, muscle activity in the tongue/cheeks, position of the tongue at rest... you get the idea.

Some people get fairly quick over eruption, some don't get any.

How long will it take to get a partial made?

My record was 1.5hrs, desperate emergency and the partial wasn't designed to last long. A fairly straightforward acrylic could be done in 48hrs, if the tech was in close proximity to the dentist.

Do I have to have the molds/forms to make the partial, or can it be done with digital images/pictures of my mouth?

Yes. No.

I am afraid of the molds in terms of gagging and even pulling out other fillings, crowns, or teeth.

Gagging can be managed, read this: https://www.dentalfearcentral.org/fears/gagging/

Pulling out other fillings/crowns/teeth simply doesn't happen. It's really not that easy to remove them

I'm in a panic now that every day the unopposed teeth are in increasing danger.

What kind of danger? Biggest issue would be having to compromise the aesthetics of the denture a bit to leave room for the opposing teeth, am I missing something?

 

[Anne2021]

Thank you for your reply, Gordon. I appreciate all the information.

Regarding the unopposed teeth being in danger, what I was reading when I looked it up was saying that it can make the teeth more vulnerable to cavities, but also that once they supra-erupt, if they do get opposing "teeth" again, like when I get my partial, they could be painful and need to be extracted, and that the only way to fix them would be orthodontic treatment (which I could never handle).

 

[Gordon]

Regarding the unopposed teeth being in danger, what I was reading when I looked it up was saying that it can make the teeth more vulnerable to cavities,

Not really. It's one of those things that might happen in theory but is vanishingly unlikely in practice.

but also that once they supra-erupt, if they do get opposing "teeth" again, like when I get my partial, they could be painful and need to be extracted, and that the only way to fix them would be orthodontic treatment (which I could never handle).

You'd make the opposing false teeth fit in with the over erupted teeth on biting, it'd be a bit daft not to and end up having to extract healthy teeth because of it instead of just filing down the denture a bit!

Orthodontic treatment wouldn't be an option, it's very difficult and almost never works, (in this case not in general!) so I'd be cautious of any information source that suggested it.

 

[Anne2021]

@Gordon Thank you for this reply. I'm sorry to say that I am wondering if all this worry about the super erupting will end up being for nothing and I am going to lose one or both of the teeth. I had deep fillings placed in April - glass ionomer filling on crowned tooth number 14 and large composite on tooth number 13. Both were temperature sensitive before the fillings, but did not fail a cold stimulation test. I am way too fearful to get root canals so I do fillings or extract. (Sad but true). They (or at least one, I can't tell) continue to be temperature sensitive to cold and hot since. I don't have any teeth below them so I don't eat much over there.

Number 14 has felt "weird" since I had 15 extracted in 2009 - as in bigger, sometimes like it feels like it's just sticking out the side of my face, itchy like I would want to pull the crown off and scratch it, etc. I just got used to it and it wasn't constant. Now over the last several days, one or both of them - my money is on 14 - itches a lot and there is pressure. It can't be bruxism because I have no teeth to bite down on them with. The itching is not like I want to scratch under the crown now. Now it's like I want to pull the tooth out and scratch where it is. Add that to the pressure and it all feels like when my tooth #12 went bad. This is similar (though not exactly the same) to right before I ended up with an abscess on the gum line and the tooth was dead and I had it extracted. I have been trying to find a dentist that I am comfortable with since mine retired in 2021. I have been seeing a dentist in his old office, but I haven't been sure I want to stay there. I had an appointment to meet a new dentist today, so I mentioned what I have been feeling the last several days. He did not see any sign of abscess on x-ray. He mentioned that one of the molar's roots could be somewhat obscured on the x-ray, but he was pleased with what he saw. I asked about doing the cold stimulation test to see if they are dead or dying. He knew what I was talking about but he said the endodontists do that. That was a bit confusing because I thought all dentists did that, too. I have had teeth tested that way at the dentist. Now it's Wednesday evening before a holiday weekend here. Everyone will be closed Monday and I'm stressing. Does this sound like these teeth are going bad?

 

[Gordon]

It's not possible to be precise without seeing you/the teeth. Normally the big giveaway to a tooth "blowing up" will be hot sensitivity as well as pain on pressure (even lying down can set it off sometimes).
Cold test will be of very limited use on heavily filled or crowned teeth, TBH I probably wouldn't bother doing it either.
Sorry I can't be more helpful, it doesn't sound too bad though!