my transition from partials to all on 4

[hellkatbaby]

First off thank you to everyone who has contributed their stories to this site. While it sucks that a lot of have so many issues, it' nice to not feel so alone and lost.

So, my story is pretty typical - genetics, gum disease, bone loss, bad habits (heavy smoker/coffee drinker). In my 20's with no insurance it was easier to have a tooth pulled not knowing about bone loss rather than the cost of saving it. Then as the years went by I ended up having 5 top teeth pulled and a partial I wore for 4yrs.

The next time I saw the dentist, which was back in November, it was due to a cracked top molar. He did xrays and came back with the results his advice due to all the damage was to pull the remaining uppers and have a denture instead. Not wanting to go that route I went to an oral surgeon who agreed....sigh. So he sent me to one of those jack in the box places and I just did not fee comfortable dealing with them. Frustrated I did some searching in my area and found alot of complaints, too many to risk that much money. So I found a Prosthodontist who specializes in implants. She also agreed with the others in that no matter how much money I put into trying to keep and repair them the outcome would eventually be the same at some point.

So I went ahead and did all the scans needed to see if I were a candidate and with some bone grafting it can be done. Then I was hit with the price tag of $25-30k for the upper arch and that included all surgery, tax tag and title - OMG! That's a new car, a pool or a boat! I was most definitely sticker shocked, but decided to have a mold made so on the next appt. she could show me every option available. And after seeing the difference I figured at my age I deserved them, I was tired of not smiling, not wanting to go out to eat because something gets lodged in the partial or underneath. Not having to cover my mouth when I laughed and not having to soak my teeth every night. So I signed on the dotted line and started with all the upper extractions the day before Thanksgiving! People thought I was crazy but I was really taking advantage of having the paid holiday and weekend off to heal so I didn't exhaust all my paid time.

So I went with just a local and a light sedative, she did the extractions, split and cleaned my gums, added bone and tissue graft and then healing dentures. I will say I did not feel one shot, any pain and it took just over 2 1/2hs. Of course I was swollen for the next week an lived off mashed potatos, oatmeal and chocolate boost drinks for the first two weeks, but nothing major as far as pain so I only needed to take Motrin.

It's been a month and I'm still getting used to the dentures. I've had relines on my follow ups but still need a bit of adhesive because they are way too big for my mouth. If I can't cut my food with a fork then I cant eat it. But hey I needed to lose a few pounds anyhow.

Tomorrow is my next appt. and I find out when I'll be ready to have the posts placed. I'm assuming it would be Feb/March given how long the grafts take to heal. It's funny you hear of these teeth in a day, but this process from start to finish seems like it may take a year - between dentures as one graft heals any where from 2-4 months, to the surgery and more temps as the post and bone bond another 6-8 months from what I understand, THEN you get the final set. But I'd rather take the long route since it seems to make sense vs having them done too soon and the fail.

In the mean time I've been reading everything I can get my hands on so I have a list of questions a mile long for her tomorrow. So far she's been very upfront and honest, always tells me to come in anytime I feel my bite is off or if my gums get sore. So I'll update tomorrow on what the plan is.

 

[hellkatbaby]

So today was my apt for a check up and to set a date for the next scan to see if the grafts are ready for the implants. We set that up for Feb. 20th and she reminded me if I had any issues or needed a refit to just come in.

I did have a list of questions and she seemed impressed that I had done my homework. I asked about immediate load or is it just the posts then cover with gum and wear the dentures as that heals before they actually attach the teeth. And then I asked about the acrylic vs porcelain as far as the lasting wear since my bottom teeth and gums are all salvageable. So yes I've done a lot of reading and researching. I did upgrade to the porcelain and I'm really excited about that.

That's the best advice I can give right now - is do your research. I understand not everyone's journey is the same as the next person. But personally the more I know, the less blind sighted I am by things and know what reasonable expectations I may have. Say the time frame for example. Had I not done much research I would be flabbergasted that this may be a 12 month process. So I'm learning patience is key.

Anyhow, the scan will let her know if they are ready for a full load or not. Either way I'll have the dentures in the next 4-6 months so I need to embrace them more and work on my bite. I've only used adhesive on the very roof due to all the work so if I sneezed or coughed they wouldn't fly out! So I've been on a limited soft diet because they would wiggle but she said it would be fine to put on the arches since its healed up. So tomorrow I'll try something more solid and see how I do.

But that dental diet does work - 10lbs in 1 month! yay. Smoking on the other hand not so much. Again I am a heavy smoker so going from over a pack a day to a 1/2 pack for me is good. But I KNOW it's not good enough. So wearing the patch, switching up my routines/triggers. It's tough, but I'm not going to throw good money down the toilet and risk an implant failure. Besides I know smoking more likely advanced the gum issue. Everything comes at a price though.

If anyone has advice on adhesives it would be appreciated. I've heard the powdered polygrip is pretty good, right now I'm using the fixident adhesive in a tube - so just curious.

 

[hellkatbaby]

So after a month I was finally able to bite into a chicken nugget and NOT have my dentures wobbling all over the place! The bite felt natural (though I didn't push it) and even though a lot of the taste isn't there - just the fact that I could chew was something wonderful!

I did sleep with them in last night and when I woke up it felt as if I had been clenching my teeth and my jaws felt tense. I remembered the same feeling when I slept with my partials so I'm wondering if it's subconscious to make sure they wont fall out? If that's the case then I'll ask for a bite shield once the teeth are in. That would suck to shatter everything in my sleep no less!

Until next time I wish everyone happy holidays!

 

[hellkatbaby]

Everything has been going good so far (knock on wood). I'm able to eat different foods, meats etc. however I'm still trying to work with my bite. I don't think that it's off, but it just feels odd when my bottom teeth meet the top because I cant 'feel' it so I don't know how hard I'm actually biting and scared if I bite too hard they may break. I did that with my partial and snapped 2 teeth - arg.

I will say that have never spent this much time cleaning my teeth and gums and scrubbing everything in between. But that's a plus - even tho we haven't started work on the bottom I can see and feel the difference by taking that extra time. While the aren't bright white the are at the point of matching the denture which is just a shade whiter of what my natural teeth could be. I would say it's at least a good 20 minute routine twice a day. Since we don't have private bathrooms at my work I just try to do a good rinse without removing them. But I did get a toddler brush and some stain away. I got the generic soak tablets but I like the name brand better. I've been using tube adhesive but I'm going to try the powdered fixident and see if that's better. I hate having to peel that goo off the roof of my mouth every time.

Another issue I've run into is a bit different in that I refuse to let my live in BF see me without them. So I've been alternating between the bed and the couch every other night. He doesn't see what the big deal is, but to me it is - some things just cant be unseen. I don't like looking at my self too much when they are out. But realistically 4-6 months is a long time alternating and hiding in the den.

My next appt. isn't until the end of Feb but I may need to stop in for a reline mid Jan if not sooner.

 

[hellkatbaby]

Since I'll still be wearing the dentures for the next few months I've been watching a lot of videos on care and product reviews. I want to keep them as nice and comfortable as possible.

I did have 1 stain and I know it's from me smoking (I really suck at this quitting thing) and tried the vinegar/baking soda soak, then polished with my toddler brush lol but it really did a good job. So that's good to know although I shouldn't be smoking in the 1st place! 2x4 please!

I finally tried the powdered adhesive and was very impressed. I will never go back to that goo in a tube again! I only used a minimum amount and shook off what little excess was left. But it really held the denture tight all day, so much so that I went into a panic trying to remove them. I pictured myself at the Dr's explaining I've cemented this thing to my mouth and ruined all the work done. (flash moment lol) but then I remembered someone in a video say to try to force warm water underneath and it would loosen, and it did whew! But no goo! No more scraping the roof of my mouth trying to peel that stuff off. It also improved my bite ALOT. I'll give it an A.

I still haven't tried to eat something like a sandwich or a hamburger, it's more due to the bread. It would stick to my partials and turn to dough so I have a fear it would just clog my whole mouth. I did try some steak and it was just too much chewing for me, which sucked because it tasted soooo good. Ribs I can handle. But I'm eating a bit healthier than before. Fish, shrimp, chicken, cottage cheese, yogurt etc. getting away from filling up on starches just to feel full.

Other than that nothing much to add. Just waiting until my next visit.

 

[hellkatbaby]

Re: surgery today

Been a while since my last update - but my surgery was today. I was only able to have the posts placed due to one spot needing additional bone graft and tissue added as well as a small sinus lift. So now it's another 6 months with dentures until all the bone and implants mesh together strong enough to hold a temporary load. Better safe then sorry. So as the timeline sits it will 1yr to the day of my extractions. Then I'll go thru a few try ins before I get my final set. Wow - that's a long time.

I will say it was a lot more extensive this time around - I was in there a tad over 4hrs just light sedation. As much as going under terrifies me, this was the one time I wish I would have opted to be put under! Even though I was numb I don't think my mouth could have been stretched any further with out ripping into a joker smile. She was good tho and explained everything she was doing step by step. I'm in discomfort a bit, but not blinding pain. Pretty much everything has worn off and I'm only taking motrin and don't need anything stronger as of yet. They say the 3rd day is the worst and not to be surprised by any bruising. Lucky for me I've done a lot of research and knew I may end up with black eyes and bruise lips and cheeks. Especially when she pulled at that hammer! Told me as crazy as it sounds by hammering them near the end after drilling and placing them helps the density of the bone . When I mentioned this to my BF he said it was actually true, that fighters bones get stronger the more they are hit/damaged due to how the bone regrows - I still need to google that.

Not smoking has been hard, like any addiction. I started by cutting back, some days I'd do great and not smoke, others I'd give in to it. Today was the perfect day for NOT even wanting a cigarette and now I have no more excuses - it's cold turkey or just put a bullet in my foot!

 

[hellkatbaby]

So I've had 2 appt's since my last post. They took 1/2 the stitching out the 1st visit and the remaining on my last visit. She told me everything is healing really good and other then me coming back for a few relines my next visit will be mid August for the next scan and as long as everything looks good I'll get my temp load in September - then another 4-6 months I'll get the finished product.

I haven't had any issues so far but when I look at the roof of my mouth I can now see how it has been totally reshaped or rebuilt is more like it. Weird but pretty cool at the same time. I can see the indentations of where the posts were inserted but not the actual posts and I don't feel them. Curious to know if I will be able to notice them once I get my temps put on. My denture is great compared to what I had BUT I'm starting to hate it. It has a slight overbite which is due to how high the front goes up in my mouth so they stick out just enough that I cant close my lips naturally unless I force them. So at times it always looks like I'm frowning or angry with my teeth showing lol.

Not smoking is a day by day process. I have good days and bad days. Days where I'll give in and smoke 1 or 2, night time is the worst for me. I can go all day and not want or need one, but the minute I get home it's a fight until I fall asleep. And it doesn't help that my BF smokes, he does smoke outside on the patio but that's where we spent most of our time as well. So it's hard to sit out there with them and just 'hang out' right now. He gets a bit pissy about it but I keep reminding him of why I'm not out there and he's more than welcome to join me inside lol.

Anyhow, this so far has been an interesting and educational adventure to say the least. So when the tops are completely done I can get to work on the bottoms. All can be saved with the exception of the back 2 molars. She did mention that those may need root canals and crowns, but the more I think about it I'd rather go with single implants since they last longer. But either way I will still have to go through the gum splitting/deep cleaning and tissue graphs to clear up the gum disease. So right now I'm trying to take much better care of them to minimize anymore damage. But I'm jumping ahead a bit, just getting excited!

Until next time or something goes wrong I'll be signing off for a bit.

 

[hellkatbaby]

Re: my transition from partials to all on 6 - update

WOW - a whole year has gone by! I'm in the final stages of try ins (fingers crossed!)

So everything healed nicely and I am now set up with a temporary all on 6 and have been getting used to it for the last 2 1/2 weeks. I've been careful about what and how I eat since I cant tell yet how much pressure I'm actually using. So I started off with the softer foods I could eat with my dentures and moved up to steak. I cant express how good it is to not only be able to chew with no problems. Not to mention having my pallet completely uncovered everything tastes so much better! I don't have any wobbling or worries that they my drop down like my dentures would do at times.

It took a few try ins to get the bite right, and then to mold the bar and again more bite tests. But now we are at the aesthetics of them. I had the choice of going with something similar to my dentures but after wearing and staring at them for almost a year I felt they were too small/thin then what used to be my natural smile. So I found a really nice set, I didn't go crazy a go for the bright movie star white. I only wanted to go as bright as my bottoms could get with a good cleaning that way they look more natural.

When the wax set was ready of course I loved them, I was so excited to have them in and be able to run my tongue over the roof of my mouth was heaven. But before I said YES LETS DO THIS!!! I took a ton of pictures from all angles and all sorts of smiles and smirks, the dentist had to keep telling me to hurry because the wax would literally start to melt from the heat of my mouth. I'm very glad that I did take the pictures because excitement can sometimes overtake you and I would have missed a few things.

I examined every picture for days and found everything about this set was perfect except for the 2 front teeth, they were very wide and almost square and made them look bucky, something I was blind to the 1st time. So I asked if we could make them look slimmer and then soften the bottoms up so they didn't look so straight across. So on the next try in they were done in acrylic and they (the lab) had rounded all 6 front teeth. Why would you round eye teeth? I immediately told her the round was not what I asked for and what happened to my eye teeth? She said that we could have them redone and that I didn't need to give these back that I could use them and practice my bite and to see if I notice I'm biting the inside of my gums or lips. Even tho I did not like the teeth I was glad I didn't have to wear the denture any more. And on the next visit we'll go over the shapes again.

Now this is where all the 'communication' gets muddled and tricky. You have to tell to your dentist what you want then they in turn need to communicate that to lab. What happens at the lab is obviously a gamble. So I decided to take one of the pics of the very 1st try in I had and enlarged it and printed out a few copies. I then drew lines around just the 2 front teeth with foot notes of how I wanted them narrowed the rest of the original set up was perfect pointed eye teeth and all. So on my next visit I took that picture in and explained what I had written down and this is the look that I want. She was able to then send that picture to the lab and have the do a digital mock up and send me the picture - so now I'm in the middle of the lab and the dentist, which actually turned out a great place to be! So they sent me the 1st picture today and it was an automatic rejection from me. The eye teeth were now flat and one tooth still rounded but the 2 front teeth were perfect. So I explained I did not want any of the teeth rounded and that the eye teeth needed to be as long or a smidge longer the then front two and again have a point.

While I was waiting on the next set of pictures I amused myself thinking they were going to send back a pair of those fake vampire fangs lol! But to my surprise they sent me 4 sets of pictures AND a video! It looks like they actually got it right - however a digital mock up has no depth or color, so I asked them to line it up with the 3D mock up of my lower jaw that they have - AND THEY DID! I would really suggest if your struggling to get the set up your going for ask to get in contact with the lab!! So when I got the last set of pics and was satisfied with the look I contacted the dentist who was under the impression that I was ready to have those cast into the permanents. Again - there needs to be ALOT of good communication. No - I am not ready to sign the final agreement. I want to see them in a set up so I can try them in just in case because once they are finalized there is NO going back no more changes can be made without paying for a whole new set up. So I'm not leaving anything to chance and insisted on a try in first.

Now - don't get me wrong I do like my dentist and the staff. They have been wonderful throughout this entire process, however today I felt as if I was being pushed into having the final cast done without a try in - I mean what if the teeth are perfect but the bite is off? And to me this is the most tedious part of the entire process. These will hopefully last me a long, long time and I don't want to look in the mirror and say gee I wish I would have said something about this tooth but was too scared and not be satisfied with the end result. I paid a lot for these so I expect them to be as detailed and personalized for what I'm paying. I get that my 'case' is almost over and for the norm their patients are older then I am and are quite happy with the basic set up. There is nothing wrong with that - it's just not for me. So if I've learned anything from all of this it's to be your own advocate as much as possible.

Hopefully my next try in will be next week. It normally takes about a week for them to mill and ship so I will update with pics on the next post!

 

[hellkatbaby]

So here's the new set up! I love them! I've stared at them for two days looking for any faults and I cant find any (which is great). We agreed to wait until after the holidays before I give the final ok - that way I get a few weeks to test them and get used to the look. But I already know these are the ones! I've waited over a year so I cant wait to see the real deal!

 

[Anxious76]

I just wanted to say thank you for posting your story. I had all of my remaining teeth extracted and extensive bone grafting top and bottom to prepare my mouth for all on 6 implants both top and bottom. I have a temporary denture on top now and nothing on bottom since that was the jaw that needed the most grafting. Anyway I go next week for my four month check to see if I’m ready for the implants yet. I see vast improvement on bottom from where I was before the surgery but I’m not sure I’ll be ready to have the implants yet. Worst case I’ll have to wait longer.

What you said about Being particular in your final teeth was helpful to. I need to have the courage to really get on my dentist until I’m 100% satisfied instead of settling like I tend to do. I can’t wait to see your final product. I’m scared to have the implants and sinus lifts for fear it will hurt even though I’ll be under sedation during. I figure though it can’t be much worse than what I’ve already been through. Anyway I’m rambling. Thanks again and good luck!

 

[hellkatbaby]

So my finals arrived and I went yesterday to have them set. However, some where along the line the set I approved was not the set that arrived. What arrived was a cross between 2 sets I had narrowed down to choose from. I showed her both sets side by side and even could tell it was not the approved set. BUT I actually liked them better comparing them to the try ins. The front teeth are longer on these but they look more natural and I did have her tweak the eye teeth for me so they had a bit more of a point.

We agreed to give it a week and if I decide I don't like them they will have to recast them (no cost to me). But I really, really love them. Everyone agrees that yes the other ones were very nice, but these really fit my face and my smile. The journey still isn't over yet - while the tops are finished I now get to start working on the bottoms.