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Dentures looming, need advice.

G

gra1

Junior member
Joined
Jan 14, 2014
Messages
3
Location
Perth, Western Australia
Hi, I am new here. I am male, 66 years old. I was diagnosed with Crohns disease 2 years ago. Crohns seems under control now following treatment with medication and gut surgery (resection - ileostomy), then stoma reversal. Strict diet over the last 2 years (mainly soft "mushy foods" and carbohydrate, Gator aid for hydration etc) has I believe contributed to dental deterioration. I was told by my dentist at last check-up just before Christmas that my teeth have deteriorated to the point where I am going to lose a lot of them, especially the back ones. Seeing him (my dentist) tomorrow January 15 2014 to discuss treatment plan and to commence extractions.

I have a large misgivings about moving to denture(s), I was losing weight for the last 2 years with the Crohns, since my surgery and recovery I have been gaining weight again at last, working my way back up to 60 kg ( 130 lbs), after being only 43 kg (95 lbs) 6 months ago. I am currently up to 48kg (106 lbs), am worried if I get dentures I will again lose weight due to having to radically change my diet and food intake due to not being able to eat the diet and amount of food I am currently consuming while acclimatising to dentures.

Also I am very worried about how the dentures will feel, how they will look, and whether I can get a good fit that wont “slop around” in my mouth. Also if they might interfere with my speech and my facial appearance.
I got a second opinion from another dentist (actually a periodontist), he suggests that I retain some of my back teeth for at least a year to “anchor” the denture, however my dentist hasn’t mentioned anything about this.

So what questions should I ask my dentist tomorrow? He hasn’t taken an impression of my mouth yet, so I am pretty sure he’s not going to try to do it all in one visit.

Any and all suggestions or advice will be gratefully accepted.

Gra
 
Hello and welcome xx

I have just had 17 teeth out over a few visits, in May and June and I am just getting impressions for my more permanent dentures now my gums have shrunk down, actually I was yesterday I went I found I put on weight after I got my dentures they were immediates put in straight after the extractions and I lived on soft mushy high calorie foods the main trouble getting back to normal eating was bread would adhere to the top palette like it was glued, and crunchy veg was difficult and steak but that's possibly not the foods you would be eating it just took a little longer to eat at first but not for long, the fit was really good and when they start to slacken you can try denture adhesive when they get very lose they can get relined at the dentist while you wait, or it was in my case, they felt huge at first and it took a little while for the tongue to adapt to its new position it's a muscle it has to retrain, my speech was slightly altered but even my closest said there was little difference but you hear it differently to them as you hear it from inside too:) I carried on with my language course and was back at work offering breakfast to people and saying sausages:giggle:

I possibly noticed a very slight change to my face but then I was actually looking for a change so the smallest thing was a possible difference. I have 6 lower front that we are taking great care over as these help stabilise my lower I did have some upper I could have kept but I couldn't handle the many treatments I would of needed to possibly only keep them for a short while longer so I opted to have them out as a top full denture adheres with a suction even now mine are quite lose ( whilst I await my new ones) I can keep them in with suction alone. Personally I found the lower to be harder to settle but hearing f many who had given up I persevered and I am glad I did, 6 months down the line and they are my teeth and what's 6 months after 45 years of them getting bad!
You sound like you have put a lot of thought into this and researched by getting a second opinion which stands you in good stead for doing what you can for sorting out and coping with the journey. I would ask the question of your dentist whether you should keep any for stabilisation and if he /she would if it was their teeth, it is taken me 3 visits for impressions and a try for fit, so no not all getting done in one go. Good luck let us know how you get on tomorrow, and if I can answer any questions from my own experience please feel free to ask.
:clover::clover::clover:
D.J:whirl:
 
Thank you DeeJay for your comments and for explaining your dental journey to date. It helps a lot. In particular, the fact that you were able to continue with your language course gives me hope. :)

I saw my dentist yesterday, talked to him about the possibility of retaining at least one of my back teeth on each side, top and bottom, He seems to think he may be able to keep one or two of the upper back teeth but says the lower back teeth are probably too far gone. He is going to look again at my "full mouth" x-ray and see what's possible. He will then prepare a new treatment plan for me.

While I was there he took out the second last tooth from the back on the upper right side. It seems that he plans to take out one or two teeth at each visit, with a week or so between visits to allow the gums to heal from last time. He intends to retain my front teeth (upper and lower) where possible. Says some will need to be re-capped and others will need extensive work.

When he's finished all the extractions and my gums are healed he will get dentures made (upper and lower) and will fit them. Until then he says I will have enough front teeth to be able to eat OK and to be able to smile and talk OK.

Right now, that seems to be the plan!

Gra
 
If you have at least 2 teeth in an arch with some bone around the end maybe 10 mm or more then I would consider an overdenture.
I have done overdentures very early in my career and patients are always more satisfied than with complete dentures. Basically you keep 2-4 natural teeth and do root canals on them. The teeth are cut off almost even with the gumline then a small "snap" is inserted into the roots and the other half into the denture. The denture then snaps into place and doesn't move around like a normal denture. Patient's have better feeling of where the food is when eating and it is MUCH more secure.

Teeth that are weakened from bone lose can still often be used as they now are much shorter so there isn't the same leverage from chewing. They are also much easier to keep clean!
 

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