Dental Destiny (or Mysteries of My Mouth!)

[RP]

That's awesome Yvonne!!!

 

[bumpthumper]

RP, let me tell you I am thrilled! The thought of facing another almost 4 months of work and wait was starting to get to me, so when the dentist said 2 weeks until impressions I was sure I heard her wrong!! I said to her, 2 weeks?, and she was like yes, 2 weeks, and she must have seen me grin, cuz she smiled too, and it was just about like Christmas in the dentist office for a moment or two!! LOL

Thanks for checking back, it means a lot to me!
Here's to both of our successes this week!!

 

[robotguy]

Its great to hear good news, I'm so pleased for you, well done.

 

[funnyc]

Yvonne I LOVE this journal!

Big congrats to you!

 

[ScaredJulie]

Yvonne that's fantastic so happy for you


Julie xxx

 

[bumpthumper]

Thank you robotguy and funnyc - though the congrats really need to go to the amazing healing powers of my mouth!!!

My journey has been one of ups and downs, I guess like anyone else's, but thankfully, somehow, I have managed to have a lot more ups than downs!

I hope I do well with a partial denture on bottom. I'm not really scared, more a little bit apprehensive about trying to eat with one. I know the speech thing won't hardly be an issue for me. With having this full upper denture for just about two months now, the only time I "trip" over my tongue when speaking is when I talk too fast (and being from Connecticut, it's kinda natural to try to squeeze everything out at once!!), but living here in Texas now, my speech has slowed down tremendously because it's just the way most people here speak - slower and with more and longer pauses. So I am pretty sure I'll be okay with learning to speak with some metal in my mouth - if it adds to the stability of the denture then I am all for it.

But the eating part is going to be tough, but at least I know that it's something I'll have to work at. I am seriously thinking that in a few years (if I can last that long with the bottom) I might like to get the implants, and have the kind of denture that a few of the others on here have gotten, that "clicks" in. I would go THAT route now, if I had the money to get it done, but getting my extractions, full upper and lower partial is taking every penny I have between my insurance and my tax refund money, so there will be nothing left.

Anyway, I'm going to adjust just fine to this bottom - I know I will, because I don't really have a choice. I need it, I'll get it, and I'll be happy with it.

I know positive thinking has a lot to do with the speed and ease of my recovery from the extractions and in dealing with the adjustments needed to make an immediate denture work - and luck with all involved in the process of getting the full denture made, from the dentist and her assistants, to the denturist and the oral surgeon. I am going to try to be the same about this bottom partial. Positive thinking and actions will result in the end product I want, right? RIGHT!!!

I am not a spiritual or religious person - I believe in karma - and cause in effect - and "you've made your bed, now you have to lay in it". It's the way I was raised, and it's the way I am raising my kids. Take responsibility for your actions, or in my case, inactions, and deal with it the best you can. I can't say I came to this site to be an inspiration to anyone. I was looking for information on immediate dentures, and I have found exactly what I was looking for. Stories of people that had the same procedure I was just about to go through. The good, the bad, and the ugly all helped me to prepare for what to exprect, and how to deal with it. I thank the creators of this site with all my heart, and all the wonderful people that use this forum, because without this site, and the people that run it, and those that use it, I KNOW I wouldn't have done as well in my recovery!! So thank you all.

I know my journey is not yet over, and I still have quite a way to go, but with the support and information I find on this site, I know I will do well!!

 

[bumpthumper]

Okay, so I go to the dentist today. As I sit in a chair in the waiting room, Dawn - behind the counter says "Yvonne, it'll be just a few minutes". I say okay and sit.

"Marie", is called from the hallway. I didn't quite catch it, as it was said kinda softly, and there is another woman sitting in the waiting room with me.
"Marie", a little louder this time - then she sees me - "Yvonne!!", followed by a burst of laughter and an apology. I start smiling as well - this is the second time this assistant has done this. When she gets me to the room and I'm in the chair, she said that next time I come in she's going to call me "Claire", just because!! LOL

Anyway - I love the way my visits start, they are usually entertaining!!

I asked her if it would be possible to get another soft reline on my top denture, as it is getting quite loose now - she said she'd ask the dentist, and she does - as soon as the dentist walks in. The dentist says sure, no problem.

She begins with getting ready for the impression for the bottom partial. She tries one of the trays in my mouth and gets the right size on the first shot. She pulls it out and sets it aside. Then, I was kinda surprised when she grabbed the drill - I'm thinking to myself "Self - she didn't numb anything, oh WHY is there a drill in her hand coming towards my mouth??", of course, by the time these thoughts run through my brain, she's already in my mouth and whizzzzzzing away in there!! I figure at this point, I"d better try not to speak, and I let her do her thing . . . she does her thing and I didn't feel anything she did, so I don't know what she did - . . . .

When she is done, she straightens up and tells me that she had to prep my teeth for the partial, for where the anchors will come over my two teeth that are towards the back, one on each side. She had to get that done, so they would be in the impression for the denturist. Oh, I see, says I - I think to myself!!

Then she mixes up her magic goo, and puts it in her "turkey baster syringe". Again, I open wide and she puts the goo along the outside gum, continues around to the inside gum, and tops it off with some on top of my teeth. In goes the tray, which she presses down firmly, and holds, and holds, and holds, she checks her watch, and holds, and holds, checks her watch again, and holds, and holds, and finally she checks around the gums twice and begins to pull it out. It takes her two tries to get it out, but when she sees it, she says that it's a terrific impression, she's very happy with it. Well, then - so am I!! LOL

She tells me to take out my top denture, which I do, and hand it to her. She just as easy as you please pulls out the old soft reline material, and I comment that I didn't think it'd come out that easy. She said that normally it doesn't. I start to laugh, and tell her it must be all the spit in there, because it's been getting so loose lately I would push it up with my tongue all day long! I asked her if there was anything she could put in my mouth to help me get a good impression this time (I have no molars on my bottom, so there's nothing there to bite against), and she puts a bunch of gauze on the tray.

She goes off to see to someone else while the assistant starts mixing up the nasty tasting, nasty smelling soft reline goo. When the dentist comes back in after just a couple of minutes, she starts mixing up more, and they combine it in the denture (I think, they were behind me at that point), and she comes around and hands my denture to me and I pop it and and hold it. After a minute or so of me holding it, she puts the gauze in along my bottom gum and tells me to bite down. I bite down and hold it for a few minutes and she tells me to take it out. I do, but it's kinda hard (nice suction again) and she takes my denture with her into a different room.

When she comes back, it's trimmed down, and I put it in and I tell her it feels "full". I didn't know how else to describe it. It felt like it was just too much, the back felt way too low along the roof of my mouth. She takes it, and trims some more off and I try again. Now it's too loose. I can rock it quite easily with my tongue. She pulls all the liner material out, and says that she'll mix up another batch, but she'll make it a little thinner this time.

She does, and then in it goes again, me holding it for a minute, the her putting in more gauze, and me biting down. But this time, I am biting for a good 3 or 4 minutes. She comments that this will take longer to set because it's a thinner mix. Just when I thought my jaw was going to fall off, she said it was ready. This time it's more difficult to get out, and when she trims it and gives it back to me, it is soooooo much better!!! YAY!!

I've had them in all day today (my appointment was at 11:00am) and it feels wonderful again!! It's 11:20pm now, and I'm going to take them out for bed in a few minutes, but yee-haw, it feels good right now. Now if I could get rid of the taste of the goo . . . but that'll wear off in a day or so, and I can handle it for a while. It's worth the trade off for how nice this denture feels right now!!

Okay, I'm done and off to bed - - goodnight all, swet dreams!!

 

[robotguy]

I never knew there was so much work to get them to fit properly.

Great news on getting a good fit again.

 

[bumpthumper]

Hey robotguy -

I think this only happens with immediate dentures. When you have the denture made before your teeth are out, the denture that is made is a best guess of how your will be shaped after the extractions are done. They of course need to leave room for swelling, so eventually the denture will become loose. That's where the relines come in, to help fill in the gaps that are now there because the swelling has gone down, and the holes that were there after extraction are closing. All this time your mouth is reshaping itself, but the denture is made of acrylic and doesn't change. It's a bit of a pain, but for me, worth it, because I couldn't do my job without teeth!!

 

[bumpthumper]

Okay, so - I'm not so happy with this reline as I thought I was. There is just too much material in the right rear section of my denture now, and it makes that side lower than it has been. It is so low now, that when I close my mouth all the way, the very back of the right side actually rests on my lower gum.

I'll have to pay $50.00 to have another reline done. They included one in the cost of the denture, and I've already had that one done. But as it stands right now, I don't think I'm going to last until August with this one!!

I might be able to make it until the end of May, which hopefully will be when my bottom partial will be complete. I've gone for the impression - then on May 14th I go for the wax try in (it will be the metal framework with wax over it), then I'll have a try in that will have the teeth in place, then I think one more try in for the final bite stuff that needs adjusting. Then I get the finished permanent partial denture. Hopefully at this point, I'll be able to get another soft reline, because they'll need to have the permanent bottom mesh nicely with the upper immediate - I'll still be about 3 months away from my hard reline.

Anyway, I just wanted to vent - I tried to get a few suggestions about getting a better soft reline impression in the general dentistry section, but it might take some time as it is a weekend, and I know that the dentists probably don't check this every day. I have had one response - but I am hoping for other ideas -

This is how it looks right now -





As you can see, I don't think I got enough pressure on the right side - it's about a quarter of an inch thick there, and it wasn't like that before. But, I'll try to make the best of it for now . . . .

 

[bumpthumper]

Ups and downs, ups and downs - I swear it can just about drive a person absolutely batty!!

I had called my benefits department before my last visit to find out if our insurance coverage began anew in April (we had open enrollment in March), and I was told yes. Okay, I get all excited because I am now going to get my bottom partial, and if the insurance would cover 60%, less my deductible, I'd be thrilled. So I go get the first impression done April 29th.

When I got home this past Friday, May 7th, I have an explanation og benefits waiting for me from the insurance company. It reads:

4/29/10 D5214 962.00 60% .00 LOWER PARTIAL DENTURE - CAST
EXPENSE PERIOD BENEFIT MAXIMUM REACHED.

I went into work today, and got caught up in work. Dawn from the dentist's office calls me, and says that they have gotten a rejection from my insurance company. I said I gotten on too on Friday. She suggested I call my benefits department again and see what's up. After a bit, when I get a chance, I pull out my insurance packet, and start to scour it. Sure enough, it says the dental is on a Calendar Year, but our Medical runs April through March. AAAAAAAAAAaaaRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGgggHHHHHHHHHHHHh!!!!

You know that Peanuts cartoon, where Charlie Brown ALWAYS falls for Lucy holding the football to kick, and she ALWAYS pulls it away at the last second, and he falls on his butt, and yells - - ARGH!!!????

That is exactly how I feel!!

I called Dawn back, and told her that it runs Calendar Year, and she said that she was sure it'd be fine if I made payments at each visit, and as long as I had it paid off by the time it's done, we should be good. I didn't even have to ask!! ( I almost cancelled my April 29th appt because I wasn't sure about the dental coverage, but when they told me it started again in April and it should be covered I kept the appt - Dawn knew that, I told her then I couldn't come up with the money in just one or two visits). I'll find out for sure how much I'll have to pay over the next three or four visits. Three should be for fittings, etc - the 4th would be to get the finished denture.

We'll see how it plays out once I see the dentist this week. I go this Friday for my first try in. Now I'll get to see how much metal she's talking about. I'll update again either Friday or over the weekend.

 

[chrissie266]

Sounds like your dentist have been great with the payment thing. Always the way, once you think things are sorted something goes wrong

 

[bumpthumper]

Wow, guess it's been a bit since my last update, but here goes:

I went in on May 14th for the initial try in of the bottom partial. This was just the metal framework. It looked rather freaky, no wax or teeth, just bare metal. the dentist put it in, and it was a nice tight fit. She asked if there was pressure from it anywhere on my gums. When I pointed out where the pressure was (back right side), she tried to get it out to adjust it. She was having trouble getting it off, so she asked me to try. She showed me when to go under it with my fingernail, and when I did it POPPED OFF!! It was funny, it actually hit my top denture! I told her I thought that it must be spring loaded, and she laughed with me. Then she did a minor adjustment, and back in it went. it still didn't feel right. She said to me to make sure that there was no pressure, because THIS WAS IT, as far as the fit went. The adjustments she was making today would be the only ones she could do. So, the framework went in and back out about 5 times before it was really comfortable, with the dentist using her tool to make small adjustments each time.

When we were done with that, she asked how my reline on my upper denture was, and I told her it wasn't right, that there was too much of the reline material on the right side. She said that when I come back in a week for another try in appointment (this one with wax on what will become the teeth of the partial denture), to come 15 minutes early. That try in appointment will be for my "bite", so we'd have to do another reline on the upper denture, to get it correct, BEFORE we could get the bite correct on the bottom. So, I made an appointment for Thursday, the 20th, for my next try in.

I gotta say, the metal wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I really thought there would be a lot more. And if the fit I had at this try in was going to be the final fit, I think I will do well with it. It was nice and tight, didn't feel loose at all. I guess we'll see what it feels like with the wax on it.

So there it is. My first try in for a bottom partial denture. Looking forward to getting a new reline on my upper full denture, because it hasn't been right for a few weeks now!!

Next update, coming right up!!

 

[scaredhuman]

Hi Bump.

Thank you so much for the information on the reline. My husband has a full top denture and is having some issues with it. I have made the suggestions to him and he said that he would talk with the dentist.

Also thank you for the information on the bottom partial denture. I am having 4 theeth extracted and already have one gone on the bottom left. So they are going to give me the partial. I am just affraid of the unknown and what is going to happen. With the information that you have talked about has given me some idea of what is happening.

Again, Thank you

 

[bumpthumper]

Hey Scared, you are most welcome! One of the big reasons I am doing this journal is to help others, so I am glad that you've learned something through my experience. Keep checking in here though, because I am going to try to document the steps on the bottom partial as I go through them. I'll have pictures in the next update!!

 

[bumpthumper]

Okay, on to try in number two for bottom partial denture, and I took pictures this time!!

This is what was waiting for me when I got into the chair:





Click on the thumbnail to enlarge if you feel brave!!!
It is just the metal framework with wax.

We had to do the reline on my upper denture first though, and I told the dentist that it wasn't right. When I closed my mouth, the contact tooth that hits the denture first caused my upper denture to drop on the opposite side.

She proceeded to do my bite stuff anyway, saying when she took the measurements that everything looked good. Okay, whatever. I'll go with the flow, but I sure hope that this doesn't make my bottom teeth to short!! I only question it because I feel like with the reline in , the denture is lower than it's ever been.

Anyway, it felt kinda cool biting on it, I haven't had a full set of molars in FOREVER, and I can't wait until next week when I go for the try in with TEETH in it. I will try to take more pictures next week too, so anyone else going through getting a partial will know what to expect.

That's it for now I guess, let me know if you have any questions . . . and thanks for reading!!

 

[bumpthumper]

I Want My Bottom Partial Denture NOW!!! LOL

May 27th - Try in number 3 for bottom partial denture (metal framework with actual denture teeth set in wax:

Sorry about the quality of the photos, but the lighting in the dentist's office makes weird things happen to my phones camera. Click on the picture to enlarge.





I know they don't look like much, but when they are in my mouth, you can't tell that any of my front teeth aren't my own!! The color is awful yellow, but we got it to match my natural teeth PERFECTLY.

After putting them in a few times to check the fit, feel and bite, the dentist made a few adjustments to the right side to lower the teeth, because that side was hitting first. Then she ended up taking out the back teeth on the LEFT side, and putting some more wax in there to raise the teeth, then replacing the teeth to make both sides hit at the same time, and it WORKED!!!!

Let me tell you something here. If you've read this journal all the way through then you know that I haven't had any top left molars or any bottom right molars for over 10 years. I've had to resort to chewing with my front teeth only (think looking like a rabbit when chewing) for about 5 years prior to getting my immediate top full denture just a few months ago. When I had this bottom partial in, it was the first time I've had a mouth FULL of teeth in probably about 15 years, and it felt WONDERFUL!

I am going to have to learn how eat all over again, but I am excited right now about that - I imagine quite a bit of biting the inside of my cheeks!! And there will be no room for my tongue! LOL - - The metal doesn't look like a whole lot, but when it's in my mouth it feels like it takes up every bit of room that my top denture DOESN'T take up!!

I told the dentist that I now understood what she meant when she had first told me that I might have trouble speaking. But as I was saying that, a smile spread across her face, and she said that I was doing just fine right then, and she said that she didn't think I had anything to worry about. The ease with which I learned to eat and speak with the upper, would apply also apply to the lower. - - She's a great dentist, isn't she?!?!?!

When she was done with the adjustments, and I told her it felt good in my mouth, she said we were done. I asked her if I could see it (she had put the mirror on the counter, but didn't realize she hadn't let me hold it yet - silly dentist! - and I LOVE MY NEW TEETH!

I looked at them for a minute (and the assistant was like "oh my god, I can't tell which one is in the denture!!), the dentist mentioned that she only saw a little bit of the metal from the anchors. I told her that to me, having a bit of metal in my mouth (whether it shows or not) was NOT a bad trade off for having a mouth FULL of teeth!!!. After admiring for a moment more, the dentist said "okay, give them to me".

To which I responded "NO, you can't have them back!" . Both her and the assistant started laughing.

Anyway, I get my bottom partial for real on the 3rd of June - this will be metal base with denture teeth set in acrylic - - - YEEHAW!!!!!!

 

[TerrifiedWoman]

June 3rd!? TOMORROW! You must be so excited!

 

[tooscared]

You must be so excited, hope everything goes well today!

 

[bumpthumper]

Thanks TW and tooscared - I am thrilled! Latest update coming up . . .