Life with new dentures-

Day 8

Seems to be getting a little better. I haven't taken any pain meds today, so that's a major plus.  

We'll see how it goes.  But it does seem that it's going in the right direction.

...

Life with new Dentures-

Day 6

Well, it's a little better today, so far.  I was able to eat something that wasn't liquid.  Yeah, it was soft, but I think that's a step in the right direction.  Praise God.

I'm a little disappointed that the dentist's office hasn't called to see how I'm doing.  Guess they're waiting for me to call them and ask for any adjustments.  I don't think that will happen until the gums are healed.  If I still have painful spots then, I'll call.  

 

Life with new dentures- 

Day 5

Five days ago, I had the last 5 top teeth pulled --- and a denture put into place.  Even after 5 days, I still can't bite down with the denture, the pain from my gums is too severe.  And the place where they did the injections to deaden my gums/mouth is very painful.  But those always are when I get teeth pulled. 

Taking the plate out is very painful, putting it back in, well, I end up crying for a moment. I mean, it hurts.  I'm hoping that's just the tender gums/injection points.  

Right now, I'm tempted to take them out and write off the cost as a loss, and just move on.  I'll have to convince the dentist to pull the rest of my teeth (11 on the bottom.  We were going for a partial, but after this experience, I'm not so sure.)  I still have a slight gag reflex problem occasionally. And when I do try to eat (a single slice of bread), I have to eat VERY small bites, or I tend to choke.  

I feel like there's something HUGE in my mouth all the time, and I"m not sure I can actually TASTE anything I'm eating.  

Liquid diets are terrible.  They wreck havoc on your digestive system. I want solid food. 

I was so looking forward to eating a hamburger or hot dog (not sure about either of those if I can't eat something without almost choking).  Or a pizza.  Right now, I'd just settle for being able to bit down without pain.

My dad said that I need to be patient.  I've never been a patient person.  Maybe that's what this about... Maybe it's God's way of trying to get me to be patient.  

Sigh....

More later.

Dental journey...




Well, after years of bad teeth, I finally bit the bullet and decided to get dentures. Tops, anyway, for now.  I went to a local dentist, and got a treatment plan with prices I could expect on each 'phase' of the project.

Luckily, I have funds available so I can pay without insurance (which doesn't pay much anyway, from what I hear).  I had all but 5 of my top teeth pulled a month ago. I had the front teeth pulled a few months before that, since they were on the verge of falling totally apart.

(Trust me, don't neglect your teeth.  I wasn't able to afford a dentist for many years, and I'm paying for that now.)

So I have no molars, no front teeth, only two on one side and three on the other side.  On the bottom, I have just one molar left: middle left side.  I have the rest of my bottom teeth. The dentist seems to think we can do a partial there. We'll see.

I went today for my denture impressions, the next 'phase' on my plan.  No problems.  Except that I had to pay $116 more than my plan called for.  Now, I know the plan says that that estimate is good for 30 days, but since I had started the work before that 30 days ended, I figure the price should be what I was told it would be when we began.

And I found out today that there's another 'phase' that wasn't mentioned on my plan: something about wax bite something.  Not sure how much I'll be charged for that.

I called them when I got home and checked my plan, and discovered the discrepancy in price. I called them back, and was told that they raised their prices (for the first time in a long time, supposedly), and that someone would call me back about it.

I got no call.  I'll call back tomorrow, but I hope they'll do the right thing. While I have the money to pay, I don't need 'surprises' like this.  I'm basically on a fixed income these days.  A set amount I get every month that I need to pay my household bills out of, along with making sure I can pay the dentist for his services.

I've discovered that I need to stop 'researching' on FB about dentures. I keep finding horror stories, and keep hearing people complain about their dentures.  I want to be able to eat real food again, not mushy stuff that's easy to chew. I've been eating soups and mashed potatoes and oatmeal.  I need something else. I did manage to eat a small order of french fries today.  So that's a win in my book.

I told Stacy that even if I hate the dentures, I'll use them to eat.

I'll keep you informed as to what happens next.