Can you refuse to for dentures if your dentist refuses to accept the fact that your dentures do not fit?

The dentist I unfortunately choose to make me a set of dentures has a horrible chair side manner and is rude, uncaring, rough and refuses to adjust the dentures even though they causing horrible pain and sores in my mouth and in no way fit my mouth. Can I just return the dentures and go to another dentist and refuse to pay her a penny?

Can you refuse to for dentures if your dentist refuses to accept the fact that your dentures do not fit?
You are certainly entitled to a second opinion, with either another dentist, or a prosthetist. It would be at your own cost. If they are causing sores or ulcers you should remove the denture and rest the area, reguarly rinse with a warm salt+water solution to assist in healing. If they cause pain/ulcers they sound like they need some adjusting, rather than relining as someone suggested (which is often needed after swelling subsides or changes in the mouth occur over time).





As to whether you can return the dentures and refuse to pay...the dentist has made the denture and you can try returning them but they will more than likely still expect payment.
Reply:Yes, let her have the falsies, What can she do, turn her in for malpractice
Reply:you can report them to the dental association in your country. you can also go to a different dentist to get your dentures adjusted, but it will cost you. If you have not paid her yet for the dentures you can try returning them, but she will probably tell you you still have to pay for them. dentures do have to be adjusted or relined after the swelling in your gums goes down. As a temporary fix until you can get them relined seabond makes a relining kit you can use to reline them temporarily. I have used the seabond reliner for a year, changing it out when the fit gets loose again.





the reliner is a two part system that you mix together then pour into your dentures. it is very effective.
Reply:I'm kinda surprised that you didn't already have to pay for them. We don't let a patient walk out of our office without their dentures being paid for.





However, we always do adjustments on our denture patients at no charge. If we were to see that for some reason the dentures don't fit, lab error or whatever the reason might be, we would do what we had to in order to make it right. If we felt it was not a matter of them not fitting, but instead just sore spots, tightness in some areas, or it was loose because that is just how some dentures are, then we would work with the patient to help work out or through the problem.





Dentures are not items that just get picked off the shelf and handed to the patient. They are custom fit, so just returning them I don't believe is the right thing to do. She, or he, paid probably a pretty high lab bill for your dentures, not to mention the material costs and staffs salary, so I am sure that by just "returning the dentures" and refusing to pay her, she is going to get really angry and you will no doubt be sent to a collection agency, ruining your credit, or she could take you to small claims court. Unless you have documentation on your side, showing that you tried to get her to help you, then she would probably win. Her side may be that you hardley ever came in for your post op appointments, you were making unrealistic demands, and you were warned up front that wearing dentures is very difficult and you refuse to accept that. I'm not saying that is the case, but that may very well end up to be her side of the story. If so, it is all going to come down to who proves their side better, and trust me, as a dentist she has documentation out the rear. Do you? Most patients don't.





I would suggest you call and ask to speak to the office manager, or head assistant. Tell them your concerns about the fit, and also about how you feel the dentist has refused to work with you. Explain that you are trying to resolve this situation as calmly as possible, but that you are at the point of feeling the need to contact a "higher authority". DO NOT mention that you won't pay them a penny. Trust me, just don't say that. That will come across as a threat that will probably do no more than to tick the dentist off, and she will probably say "THIS PATIENT HASN'T EVEN BOTHERED TO PAY ME FOR HER DENTURES AND SHE HAS THE NERVE TO COMPLAIN AND THREATEN ME. I WON'T SEE HER AGAIN UNTIL SHE PAYS ME ALL THE MONEY SHE OWES ME." It might not seem fair to you, but I can bet that is what she will say to her staff behind closed doors. Could the fact that you haven't paid her be a factor in why she won't see you? She could feel that she is working for free and is refusing to keep doing so.





Add on: Wow, if you thought that was high for a lower denture, you would hate to come to my office!! We charge $1500.00 for a lower denture. I will say though that we would have done any adjustments needed to make the denture comfortable. Is the oral surgeon the one who made the denture? I ask, because none of our local oral surgeons would have been the one to make a denture, they would have had it made through a regular dentist and then they would have done the surgery. If that were the case, the dentist who made them would be the best one to do the adjustments. Whenever we do an immediate denture, we always instruct the patient to not remove the denture for 24 hours, after that we would bring them in for a post-op appointment and we would do minor adjustments. For a week following surgery, we would have them wear the denture almost 24 hours a day, only taking it out to clean it. During this time, we will do adjustments if the denture is causing pain. The fact that the tissue is still healing does make doing adjustments kinda difficult, but we do what we can to make it more comfortable. Most adjustments happen as the patient has healed a bit more.





If I could actually see your denture and your mouth, it would be easier to help you with your problem, but all I can suggest is that you go back in and explain your problems one more time. Explain that you understand that there is a healing process and that the denture will require numerous adjustments over the first few weeks and you are not understanding why this dentist will not do them. If you were in my office, I would do what I could to ease the sore spots, including possibly putting in a healing reline. All this does it basically "pad" the gums, so there isn't so many sore spots, and would have to be removed frequently. There is a paste called PIP that they can use to help them locate the sore spots. There are also colored sticks called Thompsons color transfer sticks, where you would show them where the sore places are, they would mark them with this purple dye and then replace the denture in your mouth for a few seconds. The dye would transfer onto the denture and they would know where to adjust them.





All I can suggest if this dentist still refuses to adjust your denture is that you ask why she is refusing to do any adjustments. If she still refuses to help you, I can understand why you would fight the credit card bill.