Dentures-tell me the truth!

[NoEffingWay]

I’m mid 40’s and have teeth that are prone to decay. This visit to the dentist I’ve been told they are impeccably clean but because of having some extracted over the years, it’s time to look at dentures.

Part of me thinks that this would be great, and my smile would be restored. It would just be an upper partial, as the bottom teeth are in great shape.

The possibly more vain side of me feels sad that it’s come to this, I always thought it may happen when I was much older. I also worry that it’s the least sexy thing ever, keeping your teeth in a jar overnight!

Anyone else suffered the indignity of being told your teeth are doomed and it’s time to get the dentigrip on the shopping list?! Can everyone tell they aren’t your own teeth? Will they fall out at odd times? Do I need to take them out at the gym?

Thank you

Upper dentures are generally easier to wear than lower, they stay in better and are easier to get used to. I have always got on much better with my upper denture than lower

I have just got a Valplast denture covering my upper 4th tooth in left and 5th tooth on right. It looks good, you wouldn't know. But it is going to take some getting used to. It's quite tight - my dentist says that's how it stays on. And when I first wear it, it gives me a bit of a lisp. It isn't the most comfortable but I'm hoping I will get used to it. But I do like having it for when I'm out with friends. It looks much better.

I went for the first appointment for the implant and then back for fitting at a later date but flight is cheap and accommodation reasonable. Budapest is also a lovely city so I made a holiday out of it!

That is a well known fact and is an often reported on in the literature. Basically it’s the tongues fault

This is all really useful. I asked about bridges but essentially they would have nothing to hang onto! Becoming more comfortable with the concept, and in a way looking forward to having a full set of top teeth. I’m realising that I have compensated for a lack of top back teeth by eating in an unusual way. I miss having teeth!

I didn’t even know you can have dentures - my dentist said no to it for bottom two molars - one missing either side. Does anyone know if it’s still possible - she might have been saying she doesn’t do them as she only does implants now

@DoggielovecharlotteI would contact another dentist and see if they can advise re: dentures. Mine will be done on the NHS, they are a modern surgery with private patients too so I feel reassured about the provision of care.

Thank you - I wonder why she said no - I don’t mind paying - im on denplan with her - she only does that or private - she led me to believe it wasn’t possible - I’ve had a denture before for missing tooth on top for years in my 20s and it didn’t bother me at all

Firstly you don’t mention whether they have advised to have all your teeth out. More likely if you have gum disease.

Secondly, with only six teeth missing you still are likely to have 80% of your chewing capacity. So if it’s purely functional it’s perfectly acceptable to stick with what you have. Of course this depends on which teeth are missing.

if you are likely to lose a lot more teeth then having a partial denture fitted would be a good idea. As you lose teeth they can be added.
Dentures in a stable mouth will last 5-10 years ( basic acrylic)

There are lots of options you can ask about such as metal frame dentures, they are better retained and less likely to cause damage to your natural teeth because they are less of a food trap.

Flexible dentures are great for replacing single teeth but from a clinical point of view are food traps and unless it’s cosmetic what’s the point? Apart from lining the dentists pockets.

You can wear dentures at night as long as you are brilliant at cleaning both your teeth and the dentures. Ultra sonic baths are great for cleaning dentures ( and jewellery).

After nearly 40yrs in the business I have seen a tendency for young dentists to fill all gaps and restore all teeth. It is not always necessary and you should always be offered the choice of do nothing.

I would advise private dentures, purely and simply because the quality and choice of the appliances is greater. Maybe look for a private dentist that is over 50. Most younger dentists just don’t have the same practical experience of making dentures. It truly is an art. I get a lot of referrals from my technician. They are often the best judge of technique.

Thank you @Angrymum22it’s useful to have that perspective. Some of it is cosmetic, I have two teeth, first molars on the upper teeth, plus 4 upper molars at the back. It’s something I’m aware of. When I smile you can’t really see but even in my wedding pictures I was conscious of not smiling too wide. According to the dentist my teeth have deep grooves and are close together so there’s a possibility of more loss as time goes on. I’m having some fillings next week and some work to try and save the remaining back teeth. They are already filled so it’s possible that they won’t be here forever. I’ve been trying for years to really take care of them, and it shows in how clean and plaque free they are, no wobbly ones and my gum health is great but it feels a bit like a losing battle at times.

Only have partial upper. Getting used to it was much harder psychologically than physically.

Aesthetically and practically the denture functions much better than my natural teeth, which were awful. I was sexually assaulted by dentist at about 8 years old, so I dont have a healthy attitude to teeth!

I love this - and so interesting - I have a bridge on top that has been there way beyond the expected time - and yes very experienced dentist - he’s had a stroke now so I had to move and the new one says no dentures but will ask again.

I have only two molars missing down bottom so in your experience could I cope?

The dentist keeps pointing out the impact on other teeth..which I’m sure is true - can’t afford implants and she says no dentures. and not sure I’d want go through all implants involve anyway, also as I'm 56 and thinking I’m over half way in life and will be elderly in 20 years time!

so two missing down bottom molars, is it perfectly reasonable to cope? I have been last 20 years

The WHO definition of dental health says you need 20 teeth in order to be able to chew etc , in effect you can loose all your back molars and still function well, it’s the concept of a shortened dental arch .

However in some people , with some types of bite , if a tooth is taken out then the one above it , if it does not bite onto anything else , may overerupt ie move down out of line with the other teeth. However this , by all means, does not happen with everyone.

The problem with replacing a single tooth in “each corner” ie a molar on each side is with a conventional denture there is then a lot of plastic (or metal and plastic) covering gums and teeth which can be a plaque trap if you are not meticulous in cleaning your teeth, difficult to get used to , it can also be quite fragile with just one tooth each side and prone to breakages ,

Again a top denture is much easier with just a single tooth each side but for a lower chrome cobalt (metal) denture is probably the material of choice in this situation if you have no active decay or gum disease. On the NHS you will not get chrome cobalt and are unlikely to be offered a denture for just one tooth on each side unless it was at the front .

If you use a flexible denture for each side that has many problems, it’s a choking hazard if they come out ( they will be tiny) and flexible dentures accelerate bone loss so are a problem if thinking about implants in the future.

So for most people loosing molars is not a problem , implants are the gold standard to replace for most , dentures have their compromises and in people with active decay/gum disease they can accelerate the loss of other teeth .

I have one missing tooth. As a dentist there is no way I would consider replacing it. You can’t see it, my bite is stable and adding another tooth to my jaw would have no benefit to function. I use it to store a mint ( sugar free) or chewing gum when I need to talk.

When assessing a patient it’s important to first find out whether it concerns the patient, after that is it likely to benefit the patient by preventing further problems. In very few cases is this true. Teeth only overerupt when they have no opposing jaw contact.

Putting a complex restoration where a tooth has been extracted may actually cause a food trap leading to decay in the healthy teeth either side of the gap. Implants require a higher level of care so in a neglected mouth they are not necessarily going to be successful. They can be prone to periimplantitis if the patient has underlying periodontal disease

If you see a dentist who is happy to put in implants the next day without considering all these factors run.

I have a number of patients who have had huge amounts of work in their 40s and 50s, now in their 70s and 80s it is all crumbling and with other health problems we are limited to what we can do. It is soul destroying particularly when you remove an old crown and realise it was crowned unnecessary with little evidence of it being heavily filled prior to crowning. Over prescription in the 1970s and 80s was rife due to the way the NHS was funded. One thing the modern contract has done is to prevent unnecessary crowning of teeth. Until, of course the Turkey teeth scandal, and it will become a scandal because there will be no recourse for patients.

I am very close to full retirement and no longer take on new patients for this reason. I have years of experience of watching how mouths deteriorate with age and underlying disease. The previous generation of dentists were far too willing to promise patients that crown and bridgework would last forever, it was my generation that realised it didn’t. As a result we exercised more caution and preferred to restore teeth with the emerging white filling materials.

History is always repeating itself and now the new generation of dentists are going straight to implants rather than the often harder practice of prevention and maintenance.

I’m really glad that I'm no longer part of the future of dentistry. The rise of turkey teeth scares the living daylights out of me. Many of my cohort are retiring before 60 because we can see what’s in the future.

And yes, older dentists are good at crowns and bridges because the formal training at undergraduate level included a proper module with practical experience and you had to do a certain number of crowns and bridges to qualify. Most young dentists will do their first crown after qualifying and in practice often unsupervised.
We also did gold restorations which are particularly technically difficult. A composite or ceramic composite is simple in comparison.

My only restoration is a gold inlay done by a friend. It is over 30 yrs old and still perfect. I chose gold because we used to see lots of gold crowns and restorations, when they came out ( failure of the cement) the tooth underneath was perfect with so sin of decay often after 50 yrs in the mouth. They can usually be cleaned up and re cemented. With luck mine is likely to last a lifetime.

Can’t agree more about instantly replacing gaps with dentures. I have six teeth missing ! They were all healthy teeth ! Two were taken out as a child when I had orthodontic work and my wisdom teeth ,all four of them taken out by general anaesthetic when I was 17. If you can manage eating fine without and it’s not at the front . I used to be a dental nurse not as knowledgeable as a dentist obviously but it made me take as much care of my gums and teeth as I could. Gum disease runs in my family and you have less options if the gums aren’t good.

@Angrymum22 utterly agree. Keep a natural tooth going as long as possible , even if it doesn’t look great . I too have a molar missing and have not replaced it.

As an ex FD trainer I tried to give my trainees as much experience as possible in dentures , particularly full fulls, but unfortunately not much can surpass 40 years of providing dentures and training that included making your own dentures so you know what can go wrong in the lab and can set up your own dentures.

I love gold , the oldest gold bridge I saw a few years ago had been made in a prisoner of war camp in 1944. Gold is a brilliant but technically demanding material . The majority of advanced work I’ve done on my partner has been in gold with the exception where little tooth remained and used emax there .

I always advise patients to find a dentist they trust and stick with them. That way teeth can be monitored effectively over the years as you can keep an eye on things rather than jump straight into treatment. The minute a drill touches a tooth its lifespan is shortened . It’s only when you stay in a practice for many years (decades) you realise what works in the long term and what doesn’t and planning for when work fails (as all dental work does) becomes important each time you do a treatment.

wish we could see them😁

Thank you so helpful

I didn’t know how to say it but I just think in 20 years at age 76 teeth will be the least of my worries - even in ten years!

i guess what I mean is cosmetic isn’t an issue now - all practical from here

On a depressing note it would be great if people in the early stages of dementia had a thorough check up and realistic treatment to see them over the next few years .

Unfortunately many suffer pain but can’t tell anyone where it is . At an early point realistic measures such as taking out all teeth that have a shortened lifespan , if there is the money two implants top and bottom to support dentures and a spare set made with names in them .

Then a realistic view from relatives that denture wearing will become impossible in time , looks do not matter and you can eat well even with no teeth because as dementia goes on , dental treatment becomes very difficult , if not impossible and the control required to wear dentures successfully goes , dentures get lost , put in all sorts of odd places and it is not kind to anyone to try to replace them.

That is EXTREMELY depressing, but also very useful info re getting the implants in before it’s too late. Thanks.

I’ve been following this thread with interest, and - like the OP - would like more stories on how it actually feels to have partials and/or full dentures. It’s on my horizon and it fills me with dread, which is pointless of course but hey ho.

i agree Lollygaggle. My mum when she was early/ mid stage dementia and broke her dentures . I took her to an NHS dentist but they never seemed to fit properly . I wish I had got a private set made . She managed with her new lower set and repaired old top set . She has worn them for a few years in her care home but now refuses to put them in. She manages to eat fairly well but will chew some things for ages. It makes me sad though but as you say appearances don’t matter . It’s just the disease taking every last bit of my mum😞

My friend's dentist told her to take her upper denture out at night, bottom teeth ok. She was recently in a new relationship so naturally did not want to do this, dentists said, "it's vanity or dental health". Her next visit was with another dentist who said, "Yes, of course you can keep it in at night ".

Back in the 70s and 80s dentists were a bit more zealous about removing teeth. DM had an abcess and the way she describes it, she went to the dentist with an abcess and they said we'll remove them all and give you dentures. I'm sure there is more to the story but anyway long story short, she has worn full top and bottom dentures for about 30-40 years.

Only time I remember is when I call her really early in the morning and she hasn't put them in yet - she can't talk.

I’ve got a partial denture where two lower teeth are missing. It’s like wearing a bra, not always comfortable but if you get the right one then you usually forget you’re wearing it. Relief when you’re home for the night and can take it off, but if someone called round unexpectedly you’d soon want it back on.