Should I get dentures.?

I am a 23 year old soldier based in NY and Im considering dentures. Ive recently had 7 mercury fillings removed due to allergic reactions, "go figure" and my teeth are really ate up and my bite is horribly off and my teeth still hurt. Should I go ahead and just have them removed and will it effect my running and exercising, training, ETC and how? and what should I expect?





Private Porter

Should I get dentures.?
I agree with the other posts...do whatever you can to save your existing teeth...the order of precedence is:


- fillings


- if fillings aren't an option, crown/cap or bridge - there are a number of non-mercury materials to choose from.


- root canal


- tooth implant


- dentures (your last resort)





A lot of other issues happen when you start to lose your natural teeth.





Check if you are grinding your teeth at night...you might need a mouth guard when you sleep. The dentist will be able to tell you if you are grinding your teeth.





Also, gum care is just important as teeth care. Have your dentist measure your gum lines as a baseline for future reference. If your gums are in poor condition, start using those oral irrigators (water pics). Brushing and flossing are fine, but an oral irrigator can flush out stuff that brushing and flossing will often miss since irrigators work much further below the gumline.
Reply:Do everything possible to save your teeth! I see patients come in time and time again that have just gotten dentures or have had them a while. They always have problems with it not fitting right and that it is not stable. Once you loose your teeth your whole jaw and mouth changes shape after some time, because you once had bone to hold your teeth in place. Your gums are constantly changing, so then the denture never fits. It might fit for a little, but after some time it won't. I know that going to the dentist sucks, but really listen to what they have to say. I mean I'm scared to ever have dentures. Or at least keep the ones that you can, because they can work to give strength/to stablize the denture.
Reply:HELLO,


HAVING COMPLETE DENTURES BECAUSE SOME OF YOUR TEETH ARE CAUSING YOU GRIEF, IS AN OPTION -- BUT I WOULD RECOMMEND PARTIAL DENTURES.


WHY?


WITH PARTIALS YOU STILL HAVE SOME OF YOUR TEETH WHICH MAKES EATING ENJOYABLE.


WEARING FULL DENTURES YOUR TASTE OF FOOD IS CHANGED DRAMATICALLY.


WHY?"


BECAUSE YOUR UPPER PALATE IS NOW COMPLETELY COVERED BY PLASTIC AND YOUR SENSE BUDS ARE COVERED BY IT. YO ALSO LOSE THE ABILITY TO SENSE TEMPERATURE. YOU HAVE TO LEAN HOW TO CHEW FOOD ALL OVER AGAIN, AND THERE ARE MANY FOODS YOU CAN'T NORMALLY EAT WITH COMPLETE DENTURES. IMAGINE BITING INTO A FRESH JUICY APPLE? NOW JUST A MEMORY.


KEEP AS MANY OF YOUR NATURAL TEETH AS POSSIBLE. JUST ASK SOME OLDER FOLKS AND ASK THEM WHAT THEY WOULD DO TO GET THEIR NATURAL TEETH BACK.


WITHOUT A DOUBT I KNOW THEY WOULD DO ALMOST ANYTHING.
Reply:You are a young soldier! Too young to have hunks of plastic sitting in your mouth trying to replace your teeth. Dentures are, in my opinion the absolute worst thing anyone can put in their mouths. They suck. Complete dentures and partial dentures. I have not met a patient that really didn't hate their dentures and would just love to toss them out their car window as they drive down the interstate.


How would you like to be running, blowing out air, and have your upper denture come loss and fall down and maybe out. And the lower denture doesn't even need that, it will just float around and your tongue will want to eject it.


Partial dentures are a little more secure, but over time, the metal slasps loosen and the denture willmove a little bit. Patients are bad at getting the clasps adjusted. Now this moving denture starts wearing away at the teeth that are trying to hold them in. Pretty soon more teeth are gone and you need a bigger, uglier denture.


Do everything you can to hang on to your teeth. You will have to way the cost and the time you spend fixing things up against having chucks of plastic sitting on your soft gums all day. And since you are so young, by the time you are 50, your jaws will be almost non-existant since bone is lost from the jaws over time when the teeth are no longer there. Sure, getting implants is a way to preserve bone and secure down a denture, but they are pretty expensive.


Please give it some serious thought. Your teeth should not be so easily expendable. Good luck.
Reply:You want to do everything that you can to save all your teeth...You are only 23 years old..Getting dentures causes your bone to deterate and by the time you are 45 your bone would be pretty much nothing and you wouldn't be able to wear them...It would also take off like 10 years from your life because you can't properly chew and diggest your food not getting all the appropiate nutruients. You are in the Army and they will fix your teeth. If they didn't fix your teeth then you wouldn't be deployable and they cannot have that they need every able solider to be deployable. You get all your work for free...Just get your teeth fixed...It's better for you then dentures...Good Luck
Reply:well your age is not that of having dentures on! try saving your teeth as much as possible as dentures are the last resort and cannot be compared to natural teeth in function, after wearing denture your way of tasting things completly changes and not as good as your natural teeth .
Reply:you are WAY TOO YOUNG for dentures. Avoid that at all costs. You will be very, very sorry for the rest of your life.





Go to a dentist a get a real treatment plan going. do not get dentures. that is insane
Reply:Most good dentist will try and save as much of your original teeth as possible. Talk with your dentist about crowns or even veneers, but if the problem is your gums then maybe dentures are the way to go. Also talk with your dentist about dental implants if the problem isn't with your gums. With the right adhesive dentures can be quite right. But please remember to let your gums completely heal before you get fitted for your dentures or the fit will be off and cause you to have that " I have dentures look". You also won't have any problems with continuing your normal exercise regime.