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Full upper extracted yesterday. Feeling miserable.

C

coffeeandpain

Junior member
Joined
Feb 21, 2019
Messages
4
Location
Miami
Like the title says, I had all of my remaining upper teeth removed (nine) and an immediate denture placed in. On the bottom, I had two teeth removed and I have two front teeth remaining they think they can save and give me a partial instead... but that is for a future appointment, so right now I look ridiculous with only two front teeth. Literally.

Anyway, I know this is only day one and there is A LONG road ahead of me, but I feel like I somehow made a mistake. I mean, deep down I know I didn't, but this process is so painful. They told me to leave my immediate in for 24 hours, which I did-- sort of. It made me gag SO BAD. I mean B-A-D. Around the seventeen hour mark I tried to talk and just couldn't handle it so my gag reflex kicked in and I literally threw up all over myself which was not great. It made me feel even worse about the entire thing and I just started to cry and wonder what I had done.

I went to the bathroom and after great trouble, managed to take out my immediate. That opened a flood gate of pain and soreness I didn't even know was possible. Fast forward a little later, my gums and everything are too swollen to even attempt to put that back in plus I can't handle the gagging... I can't.

Also now as I'm sitting here I just don't know where to rest my jaw? It's so swollen and painful and I have nothing to rest it on without teeth, which I had never thought about before...

anyway, thanks for letting me vent... I just feel really defeated about the whole thing right now
 
I had all of my uppers removed about 2 years ago, but didn't get an immediate denture. When my denture was finally made though, after my gums had healed and shrunk, I couldn't even keep it in for 2 minutes without gagging violently. I was able to overcome that eventually by following a method I found online (it sounded very logical). I retrained by gag reflex by brushing my tongue, side to side, as far back as I could without gagging. I did this for 15 seconds, twice a day for a full week and then tried to put the denture in again. I had not tried at all during that week though, and that is an important aspect of this method. I was completely gobsmacked to discover that I could wear the denture easily and have not gagged once since then! Since I didn't have a denture for so long though, I ended up with stress in my facial muscles, because my jaw never knew where it should go. After physio though, I'm all good on that front too. I don't think that you'll have any problems on either front though, because you'll probably retrain your gag reflex soon and then your jaw will know where to sit with the immediate in. Also, the word of warning I found online about the tongue-brushing cautions you not to overdo this, because a gag reflex is there for a reason. An unreasonable gag reflex though definitely needs a little adjustment.
 
Sorry to hear you are having such a rough time. It is really early days and your poor mouth has been through a huge trauma.

I don’t have any advice on dentures, but I had a huge gagging problem when I got fitted with a mouthguard for bruxism a few years ago. My eyes would stream, and I felt like I was choking, retching, horrible. I knew I had to learn to wear it, because I was smashing up my teeth, but urgh.

What I did was set a timer on my phone and make myself wear it for five minutes the first day, then ten the second, then 20, and so on. I did it during the day when I could concentrate on something else, and after I had done my time, that was it. I found I got used to it quite quickly, and in under a week was able to wear it to bed. Over the first few nights I would wake up and take it out, but now I can’t sleep without it.

I think we can adapt to anything if we have to. Good luck.
 
Just wanted to say that I think it totally understandable to feel emotional, it's a big deal. Mentally and physically but the body/mind has an amazing ability to heal and adapt and that takes time. The experience you are going through sounds tough and I hope you can be kind to yourself and put all your thoughts and worries aside and focus on healing.
 
I just feel really defeated about the whole thing right now

Hi,

Sorry to read about the tremendous difficulties you are facing. Surely it will get better. It take three partners:
1) your dentist. A skillful dentist will make it much more comfortable. It is mainly a question of minimal as possible denture’s coverage and stability. I recommend your dentist to use a soft re-line (conditioning) for that.
2) you yourself. Try to put the denture in as much, long and frequent as possible. Easier said than done but it is important for your mouth’s tissues to get accustomed.
3) time is needed. I believe that within two weeks you will be able to use relatively comfortably.
 
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