New Member....Age 25 - Need False Teeth :-( Dental Q's

[xxlouisexxx]

Hi,
I have a gum desease which has become very bad after my latest pregnancy, leaving my front teeth very loose.

I have been attending my dentist for some months who appears to have been a waste of time, he kept sending me away with gum gels, mouth wash and antibiotics to use, the anitbiotics were to help shift an infection, but they caused me to have thrush which only led to more problems......

On my last visit to see the same dentist i explianed that i was so fed up and wished for something to be done, my teeth were so loose that i could not eat, nor brush my teeth properly, let alone to mention how self consious i have been about my smile etc... i have felt so depressed with it.

My dentist said that he wished to try and save my teeth for as long as possible, and sent me away with more anitibiotics and mouth wash !!!! Told me to come back in 3 months time...
I was appalled, so decided to called the dentist and demanded an earlier app, when i arrived i saw a diff dentist, who took one look at my teeth / gums and so 'Oh My' why have you been left like this for this long?? i explianed the matter to him, he informed me that the guy i was previously seeing had been dismissed from working and was not to return !!!!

I have now been told that i will loose my front teeth, top and bottom and have to wear dentures. Im taking anitibiotics yet again (for 5 days) as my gums are badly infected, once the infection has cleared i have to go back and start treatment..
The concerns i have is that once my teeth are removed, the dentist said its ideal to have no teeth in place (dentures) to allow the gums to heal...

there is no way i will walk around with no teeth.... can i avoid this?
Cant imagine having no teeth, im so worried.....

Thanks

 

[Spektyr]

There's no reason they can't put an immediate denture in the same day they pull the teeth. I had my teeth - all 28 of them - pulled over 5 visits starting from the back and the last one they pulled the front teeth and installed the dentures at the same time.

They're not exactly a great fit, but it's nice to have good teeth again.

Your gums do heal faster without a bunch of stuff sealing them up and immediate dentures can end up costing a bit more (depends on what they do), but you shouldn't have to do without teeth.

Personally, I don't mind it so much. The first couple weeks was really unpleasant but a lot of the problems I had you won't have to worry about since you're just getting partials. I actually spent most of the day and all of the night not even in the same room as my teeth because I'm trying to get as much healing as I can done before the holidays. I'd rather not have to look at the food at the next family gathering and try to evaluate what I can and can't bite through.

So for the most part I just put my teeth in to go out or eat, and probably half the time I don't even put them in to eat (I have a lot of recipes that don't need chewing, and I've gotten pretty good at crushing food against the roof of my mouth with my tongue anyway.)


You can get through it... if I can you can. I've got a journal about my experience if you need to see what it's been like for me.

 

[scared2bthere]

YOu should be able to tell the Dentist you don't want ot be without teeth and get immediates. Are you getting full dentures or partials? I have a top partial and it was fitted prior to the extractions and given to me to wear home after the front teeth extractions. It is actually a "flipper" so it is temporary until everything is settled in and the gums are healed but it also was about half the cost of the long term partial I will be getting.

 

[xxlouisexxx]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies..

Im not exactly sure how many teeth i'm actually going to loose, i have to make a trip to see the hygienist first, to get a deep clean, then the Dentist will asses my gums / teeth to make a decission as to what needs to be extracted.

So far, its quite clear that i will loose my 2 front teeth and bottom two (Central incisor's) if i've got that right ??? these teeth are extremely loose and i'm very surprised that i've not lost them yet !!!

My teeth have significatly moved and i'm now left with horrid gaps in my teeth, on my bottom gaw, the gap is that large that it actually looks as though i have a missing tooth.

I am just so upset with everything, as my dentist has said that my teeth are perfect, it's the desease in my gums that causing the problems, just see,s such a waste to have to pull out perfectly healthy teeth

I'm glad to hear that it should be possible for me to have temp dentures in place, was horrfied at the idea of having to walk around with no teeth !!

 

[brit]

If you can afford it, you should consider getting a second opinion from a periodontist (gum specialist) before having the teeth removed. You can ask your dentist to refer you to one. It's good that he is doing the deep clean first because that can improve things dramatically especially if you institute a good homecare regime at the same time.

The state of the art option for the missing front teeth is of course implants but they are only available privately in the UK (don't know where you are of course) - still at your age, could be a good long-term investment and worth getting a bank loan?
Best of luck - it must be a hard time for you.

 

[scaredstiff]

I am so sorry to read of your problems. When one is not happy with advice from one dentist it is always advisable to go for a second opinion but admittedly when both say different things it is a quandary because who do you believe. In your case, though it may mean having to fork out for yet another consultation I do think you are only going to get at the proper diagnosis/prognosis if you go to yet a third.

However, although you are so young, even if you do have to wear dentures, I can tell you from personal experience, you will soon get used to them and they can become part of you just like your natural teeth and no one need know unless you choose to tell them.

These days also, there is no need at all to have teeth extracted and then go around without teeth waiting for the gums to heal. You can have immediates fitted which means while your teeth are in place, you will have impressions and bite measurements taken so the teeth will be the same as the ones you might possibly have to lose.

I won't go into any more details now because until you get a third opinion you really don't know what really needs to be done and might be worrying unnecessarily. Whatever in the end needs to be done, you can get through it. Keep posting here and you will get loads of replies in support and there will be many of us who will have gone through exactly what you will have to face and can give you even more support from personal experience.

 

[brit]

I am so sorry to read of your problems. When one is not happy with advice from one dentist it is always advisable to go for a second opinion but admittedly when both say different things it is a quandary because who do you believe. In your case, though it may mean having to fork out for yet another consultation I do think you are only going to get at the proper diagnosis/prognosis if you go to yet a third.

However, although you are so young, even if you do have to wear dentures, I can tell you from personal experience, you will soon get used to them and they can become part of you just like your natural teeth and no one need know unless you choose to tell them.

These days also, there is no need at all to have teeth extracted and then go around without teeth waiting for the gums to heal. You can have immediates fitted which means while your teeth are in place, you will have impressions and bite measurements taken so the teeth will be the same as the ones you might possibly have to lose.

I won't go into any more details now because until you get a third opinion you really don't know what really needs to be done and might be worrying unnecessarily. Whatever in the end needs to be done, you can get through it. Keep posting here and you will get loads of replies in support and there will be many of us who will have gone through exactly what you will have to face and can give you even more support from personal experience.

I think she's only talking a partial denture top and bottom and at her age if it's just say the two front teeth then two implants there instead would be well worth anyone's money at age 25..even if she has the partial on the bottom..and even if she has to go without a holiday for a couple of years.
The dentists on here would know for sure but I think the implants are likely to be much more successful if done sooner rather than later because the bone shrinks back once a tooth is removed.
Many periodontists (gum specialists) also do implants...it goes without saying that she should only have implants done by someone experienced in their placement. So not a job for a recently qualified NHS Associate I'd say...if you do end up paying privately...make sure you are paying for someone's experience...rather than being a point on their learning curve.
Situation is probably not as bleak as you fear, especially if you can afford to pay for the most appropriate (rather than the cheapest) treatment option. We're talking a couple of implants not a whole mouthful of them hopefully.