Dentures advice needed

Toothsmith

Right - big but common problem.

Dentures are not an alternative to teeth - they're an alternative to NO teeth.

Top dentures are much easier to get used to as they have a large surface area, sit up in the top of the mouth, develop good suction, and are out of the way of the tongue.

Lower dentures on the other hand, sit on a narrow horse-shoe of bone, with the cheeks moving about on one side, the tongue waggling about on the other side, and the whole jaw they sit on bouncing up and down as well.

They are not sealed to the gum, and there is nothing really to hold them in place.

You will not be able to eat in the same way you did when you had your own teeth, you will have to adapt the way you eat things in order to keep the dentures in place, rather than expect the dentures to stay in place as you eat like you did before.

If this all sounds very complicated, then in a way - it is!

But you will speak to people who tell you that they've had dentures for ages, and never had a moments bother with them. Do they have different dentures to you? No. They've probably been provided with them when they were much younger - and everybody is much more adaptable when they are young. (Look at kids with some of the braces they have to wear!)

So - the only way to get used to new dentures, and to learn to eat in them is to wear them, and eat in them.

Start off with easy things, and gradually work your way up.

Remember though, the dentures aren't going to adapt to how you eat - you have got to adapt to how the dentures work.

It sounds much more complicated to decribe than it is to do it (Like riding a bike!). Just persevere, and you will get the hang of it.

Once you get the knack, you'll be able to chomp anything! But you'll not get used to them until you realise that it's you that needs to learn how to eat again - and the dentures are just bits of toothy like plastic that can help if you learn how to use them.


Having said all that, there really is an art to making a good set of well balanced dentures.

A good dentist working with a good technician can really make some very nice very realistic sets.

There are also many factors that can make a denture very difficult to wear and uncomfortable.

I have seen people successfully wearing some very bad dentures though, and I have seen some people complaining about technically very good dentures.

People can adapt to all sorts of things if they put their minds to it! Reading your posts, I get the feeling that it's a bit more time and practise you need, and a bit of a shift of your expectations.

There is nothing you can buy that will seal a lower denture to the floor of your mouth, and if you carry on looking, I fear you will waste a lot of time and money looking for a Holy Grail.

To get something back that feels like teeth, you will need to go down the road of implant-retained dentures, but that is very expensive indeed, and I'm sure a little more time would see you adapt to conventional ones in the end.

viv0147

Thank you for the advice, I will give it a really good go this time.