loose fitting partial dentures

TBeckett100

my grandmother had two lower front teeth removed after a fall. they gave her a partial denture and ever since they keep slipping out. her confidence has hit rock bottom and she wont eat out anymore unless it it cottage pie. i have bought the usual adhesive etc but she is still having problems.

is it worth going back to the dentist. she has some back teech missing and at the time refused to have those on the new denture, but i wonder if having more teeth added would make them less easy to fall out?

coldstreamalways

Of course it's worth going back to the dentist, that's what we do!! It may help as it could give the denture something to "brace against" but it may not. Very hard to say without seeing the teeth and the current denture.

Lower dentures are a pain in the bum although, having teeth on the bottom at all is a good start as someone with no teeth on the bottom who wants a denture is a "heart sink patient".

Get her to the dentist and explain the problem.

hethmar

Of course your gran should be able to eat properly - if she wont go back, you ring the dentist and explain whats happening.

Toothsmith

Lower dentures, be it a full one or a partial one, are really difficult things to get used to.

Plus - the older you are when you get one, the harder it is to adapt.

Plus - the shock of suddenly losing a couple of teeth in an accident will also stretch the limits of tolerance (It's not like she'd been struggling with a loose tooth for a few weeks and got round to the idea that a denture would be better)

She's probably one of the 'in betweeners' where a lot of her generation had a denture from quite early in their life, and so got used to them when young, and are now skillful denture wearers. But she (due to improvements in dental health in the general population) has managed to keep her teeth longer, and so has no denture experience.

It could be that there is something wrong with the denture, or that the addition of a clasp or two might help - but just because she's finding it difficult, doesn't automatically mean there IS something wrong - so work with the dentist in helping your Gran rather than assuming that something might be wrong with the manufature of them.

As for back teeth helping or not - it's a very tough call.

It might help stabalize the denture a bit, but it would also add an awful lot of bulk to the denture, which would make them feel enormous. On balance, I'd probably have gone small first with a view to adding back teeth if tolerance was good. Plus - you can provide someone with a small denture to replace a couple of teeth much more quickly than a large one. Important if your Gran was embarassed by the new gap.

brook2jack

All that keeps a lower denture in is muscular control and any "grip" you can get around remaining teeth. There is no suction like there is on a top denture.

Having a lower denture is like riding a bike .... it is a skill you have to learn. Some people never adapt and that is why you see so many people who wear a top denture but never wear a lower denture.

Some things make it easier to wear, eg the younger you are the easier it is to adapt, determination and also if the dentist can put clasps around any remaining teeth.

However for some people lower dentures are impossible to wear (implants were originally designed to hold in lower full dentures). You would be surprised at the number of people who eat etc perfectly well with top teeth but no teeth at all or few on the lower jaw.

denture fixatives are completely useless for lower dentures. Unfortunately you cannot eat etc exactly the same way with a lower denture as with your own teeth but the majority of people will eventually cope.