Healing/adjustment process immediate partial

[SallyUK]

Hi
I have an appt booked for my canine tooth to be extracted and an immediate partial denture placed. I am healing from an upper molar extraction last week. This canine is being removed as (hopefully) it's the cause of a now chronic infection.

I have an important event two weeks after the partial is fitted. I am now second guessing whether that's enough time to deal with any issues that might come up but mainly that my speech will be ok by then. (I'm singing and some solo sections)

I don't particularly want to delay this treatment and my dentist previously said it might take me a week to get used to the partial and don't book anything important. I've only just had confirmation of the event two weeks after.

As far as I understand it has no clips, just suction. Do these partials need adjusting and when might that be necessary? Do you think two weeks is a reasonable time to expect to feel 'confident' about the new situation? I appreciate everyone is different. After recent extraction I felt swollen tissue for 2/3days then much improved. Is a check up usual after a partial fitted, I haven't been told to book one.

Thanks

 

[Judythecat]

My situation is different as my partial replaces a molar and ore-molar which had been missing for years, but my timeline was:

Thursday 27 December - had it fitted, wore it from the appointment until bedtime. I felt my speech was a bit lisp-y, but my partner said he didn’t notice it at all.
Friday - met a friend for lunch. Wore it from about 12pm until bedtime. No awareness of my speech being off now.
Saturday - day at home, wore it most of the day. Bit uncomfortable.
Sunday - met a friend for lunch. Really uncomfortable now.
Monday (Hogmanay) - rang the dentist and booked in for an adjustment. Wore it out for dinner, really uncomfortable again.
New Year’s Day - realised I had quite a nasty ulcer where it was rubbing. Decided to leave it out.
Thursday - dentist adjusted it. Said to leave it out for a few days.
Sunday - tried it again, and it opened up the ulcer again.
Left it for a full week then tried it again - success.

Have been wearing it since with no issues, and I basically talk for a living as a lecturer. I tend to put it in just after I brush my teeth before work, about 7.30am, and take it out after dinner. Again, my situation is different because my gap is not at all visible.

I don’t know if this will work, but i’ve tried to attach an image of what mine looks like (but it has two teeth) - is this what you are getting?

 

[Judythecat]

Oh, I should also say I was eating on it! If I hadn’t been then I probably wouldn’t have had the rubbing.

 

[SallyUK]

Oh, I should also say I was eating on it! If I hadn’t been then I probably wouldn’t have had the rubbing.

Thanks Judy. Sounds like quite a quick adjustment for you. Mine will go across my palate I think and front teeth used more to form words, so I'm a little anxious how it will go but also want it done and over. But....don't want to let anyone down if I don't adapt in time. Arrrgh I need a crystal ball ?

 

[Judythecat]

Honestly, I think your health is the priority. This has dragged on for ages, and in your shoes I would just want it done.

I think not covering my palate probably made it easier for me, plus I didn’t have an extraction site to heal. I also knew if it didn’t work out, it wasn’t a big deal other than being £300 down. (I have a molar gap on the other side and actually got another one for it which I got fitted last week - it made my facial neuralgia go crazy. Other than the day I picked it up, I haven’t had it in my mouth since. Good spending, Judy!)

 

[SallyUK]

Honestly, I think your health is the priority. This has dragged on for ages, and in your shoes I would just want it done.

I think not covering my palate probably made it easier for me, plus I didn’t have an extraction site to heal. I also knew if it didn’t work out, it wasn’t a big deal other than being £300 down. (I have a molar gap on the other side and actually got another one for it which I got fitted last week - it made my facial neuralgia go crazy. Other than the day I picked it up, I haven’t had it in my mouth since. Good spending, Judy!)

Yes, it's been a long time to get all this sorted amongst other issues & my dentist taking a wait and see approach to things healing. Still not certain a second tooth wont be extracted after this one, but I am hoping this tooth is the issue. It can't be worked on in any case, so yes, it needs to go. I find knowing what to expect and other peoples experiences helps with my anxiety.

 

[Gordon]

Most partials need their first adjustment inside a week. If you sleep with it in for the first night it will help you get used to it quicker and it'll need less adjustment.
In terms of your speech and singing, practice hard with the denture in, don't be discouraged if it feels a bit weird at first, you will get used to it quite quickly. You'll get to the stage where you start lisping etc when you take the denture out!

 

[SallyUK]

Most partials need their first adjustment inside a week. If you sleep with it in for the first night it will help you get used to it quicker and it'll need less adjustment.
In terms of your speech and singing, practice hard with the denture in, don't be discouraged if it feels a bit weird at first, you will get used to it quite quickly. You'll get to the stage where you start lisping etc when you take the denture out!

Thanks Gordon. My dentist has told me little to nothing about what to expect or adjustment appointments. I guess I'm going to have to suck it up (no pun intended) and commit to making this partial work for me. Having a singing commitment is actually a good motivation for me. singing is as important to my wellbeing as getting the infection gone!

I'm totally scared of sleeping with it and hearing my speech and looking at it but..... this site and your advise is motivating. I'm going to set my sights high that I will a) tolerate it well and b) adjust my speech quickly. Mindset works for me, I hope I succeed! I'm going to do as you say.

 

[Gordon]

Another thing that helps is sucking on a hard sweetie (sugar free of course ) to help get over the strange feeling.
Some people seem to be natural denture wearers, I've been amazed many times at the absolutely awful dentures they were happily getting along with. One lady had a full upper denture which was broken into 4 pieces and about 40 years old, she still functioned fine with it!