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Having to face wearing a partial denture at 22…

  • Thread starter IhaveDentalproblems
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IhaveDentalproblems

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I am looking to enquire about getting an upper partial denture to replace upper molar teeth.

Due to a series of unfortunate circumstances over my life time as a child and a teen I did not have very good hygiene habits or the best dietary habits. In recent years I have struggled with mental health problems and other personal difficulties which further lead to a decline in my dental health. I had one tooth extracted in 2018 and currently have two root canal teeth which have caused me nothing both agony and unpredictable bouts of pain ever since they had a filling and then needed a root canal. They normally cause some low level disruption to high level disruption in my life nearly everyday. At their worst pain level, it is debilitating to my life and stops me functioning. I struggle to eat and drink hot or cold foods - especially hot foods on one of the root canal teeth in particular and also cold weather causes extreme pain. They are very sensitive to thermal changes. Due to how fragile they are I am unable to floss the teeth the roots of the teeth are very painful to floss which is causing further issues by being unable to floss them. In an attempt to change my hygiene habits I floss all my other teeth now everyday but I can not floss these two teeth due to the severe root pain they cause.

I am now looking at the very difficult decision of having them removed since they offer no net positive to my life anymore and I feel if they are not functional or aesthetic looking they should be removed in the interests of my health. I am exploring getting a partial denture to replace the gaps being only 22 years old and having to face this is / has been immensely psychologically distressing for me and caused me to have to drop out of my degree and miss out on lots of opportunities. Undergoing a multitude of painful dental procedures has left me extremely anxious of dentists and its associated pain and big financial implications. I find every aspect of dentistry very scary and find it hard to communicate about it as its very distressing for me and am best able to communicate by written means.

My current dentist offered to extract them but refused to discuss having a partial denture made because he said I was too young for it. He suggested a implant or a bridge but Unfortunately implants are completely unaffordable for me being low income and I would not consider a bridge as due to the extent of the issues I have already the last thing I would want is to drill and damage more of my teeth so I would not want to pursue a bridge replacement option. So this has left me to consider a partial denture as the best option for me right now financially. I am considering having the teeth extracted at my current dentist and then exploring a dental practice to fit a partial denture.

I am currently looking around and wanted to explore having a consult about getting a partial denture and to discuss what to expect if I were to have one and the pros and cons and perhaps see an example of what a partial denture looks like in person and to get a quote as well.


Overall the thought of having more teeth removed and wearing a denture makes me feel utterly humiliated and demoralised and like i cant bear to live like that - i hate it life is so much suffering living like this and the costs i cant do it


Help :(
 
Hey I'm so sorry to hear about this. I don't believe you can be too young for dentures but my dentist is saying the same thing. However my brother got partial dentures in his early 20's so I'm getting the understanding it varies by dentist. I think most dentists recommend waiting a few months before putting an implant in if this gives you time to help your financial situation. I believe lower partial dentures for molar and premolars are more of an issue when it comes to partial dentures so they suggest leaving the gap but I can't understand the issue if they're upper molars. I do hope you get it sorted though
 
@IhaveDentalproblems Hi I am sorry to hear you are in this situation. I really empathize with you when you say you find every aspect of dentistry very scary, and hard to communicate about. I am just the same way. I explored getting a partial denture for a lower molar and was able to find two dentists who would offer it for me. One was totally happy to do so, one didn't recommend it and said it was a choking hazard but would still arrange one for me. You might do well asking any questions you have about partial dentures in the ask a dentist forum here, Dr. Gordon knows a lot about them. I am sorry I don't have any better advice to offer, but good luck to you, I hope this situation soon gets better for you.
 
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