New Denture adjustments and care
Like anything new, wear them in and do a tweak here & there
PAGES -
Starter Page
Find the right Dentist
Fitting new Dentures
Getting used to Dentures
After Care
Fact or Fiction?
If you're like me and had all remaining teeth out and new dentures fitted in one day, this article may well be appropriate.
The problem with a new full set of dentures is that they are made to shape the gums as they were on the day you had them fitted. Teeth have been pulled out and this obviously leaves quite a few lumps and bumps along the gums.
This is great to begin with, but as time moves on, you gums will shrink and th lumps and bumps of your Dentures start to mis-fit and you find yourself spending a small fortune on Denture Fixatives.
Usually the gums will shrink to their new 'being' after a few month's, in my case, due to age probably, this took over a year. This can become quite frustrating as never a week goes by where you don't feel a new sore which the mouth has to get used to. Eating can become harder and you find yourself getting into a routine of a quarter of an hour before each meal, cementing them in with fixative and after the meal, having to take them out because of food getting stuck underneath them.
Your Dentist will give you a fair estimate in time and once he or she is ready, they will call you in - believe me, you can't wait !
In my case, the Dentist smeared some 'poly something' inside the dentures (a bit like the moulding at your first visit), waited for it to set, then told me to go home for a couple of days to see how they went, then return.
Upon my return, he shaved off any offending parts and sent them away to be better finished. Sometimes this means a whole new base fitted.
This is usually done overnight, so make sure you haven't any social functions to attend ! If you're like me, I hid the car and shut myself in. We do have some vanity don't we !
When they come back, it's like having a new set altogether, they should snugly fit and you'll probably find you will only need fixative to eat on the bottom set and only a fraction of the amount.
Some find this a good time to have a new set made, but I was advised to keep the existing one's for a few month's and see how things are then.
This is a little problem. When you have all your remaining teeth out and dentures put in, they are designed for you as you were then, so you may find your face's structure has changed a bit as well. Maybe you need longer teeth, maybe small etc.
Cosmetics has come to the fore of late and dentures are not alien. You can have them padded out a bit, soft inners etc. If you can afford it, you can have clips put into your gums and the dentures snap into them.
But, at this stage, you're well under way and hopefully enjoying life a lot lot better.
