Denture fixative advice needed

bettyboo71

I have recently started wearing dentures, and am still trying to get used to them. The upper one is fine, but I definitely need a fixative for the lower one. With trial and error, I have just about worked out how much I need to apply, but sometimes it seems that the fixative becomes ineffective very quickly - I think this might be because I am eating very hot food, or possibly it might be caused by coffee?
I am currently using Poligrip ultra
My dentures are both partials.

Any suggestions of what might cause issues, or advice on other fixatives, would be very much appreciated.

Also, I don't like the nozzle on the poligrip tube - the trial size fixadent that the dentist gave me has a tiny nozzle which seems much easier to use, although I think there is also an issue with the consistency of the poligrip, as it seems hard to separate it from the tube.

brook2jack

On the whole lower dentures are much harder to wear than uppers. You don't get suction with them and the movement of the toungue means they are quite unlikely to stay put.

Denture fixatives often work well on top dentures but rarely work on lower dentures because of the movement of the toungue and muscles in the floor of the mouth and because it gets washed away by saliva collecting in the floor of the mouth.

The only reason people successfully wear dentures is because they adapt the muscles of the mouth to control the dentures. Some people , however, never get used to lower dentures and that's when they start to investigate implant retained dentures etc.

In general give it time because wearing dentures is like riding a bicycle, it's a skill that needs to be learned.

bettyboo71

Thanks for that very informative post.
I really do need to persevere, as the lower denture replaced 6 molars, so without it I have some difficulty chewing! Most days I don't put the lower one in until late morning, and I find that usually the fixative lasts until after dinner, so it does seem that trial and error is the only way to succeed.