Dentures -- any experiences/advice -- *urgent*

[Anonymous]

Hello -- I posted in Off-Topic, but this might be a more suitable location. Any input, from either forum, is much appreciated:


My father-in-law is facing the reality of having to pull all of his lower teeth and get a full denture. Unfortunately, his years of diabetes have contributed to weakened gum (thankfully top teeth are fine), and one dentist advises taking all the teeth out now, rather than riding it out to see how long they last, since apparently they'll eventually all have to be pulled. It's mainly the four lower front ones that are loose; the rest probably can still last, with the right care. DH and I are trying to see if maybe he can get a partial denture, but other family members are feeling maybe it's best to just get the full denture and be done with it (save time, trouble later, etc).

Reading about dentures has worried us (getting used to eating, talking, not to mention the healing time of pulling that many teeth), which is why we would hope that the partial denture might be a reasonable compromise. If anyone has had experience or can relate, please share. Thank you!

[Anonymous]

My dad had a full denture but I don't know much about them. He never complained about them but he never really complained about anything.

However, my advice whenever you are facing major dental work is to ALWAYS get a second opinion. Dentists vary a lot in what they want to do. Many, unfortunately, want to be aggressive in treatment for a variety of reasons. You may be able to take a less aggressive (and yet just as safe) approach to this.

[Anonymous]

Hi PP, thanks, that's a good reminder. I agree that getting a second opinion on something this big is critical and that dentists likely approach things differently. I'm hoping the partial denture route can work, but regrettably we may not have much time to take my FIL to get another opinion, more testing, etc. I hope somehow it can work out well.

If others also have advice/experiences to share, thanks greatly in advance ...

[Anonymous]

http://develop.inqbation.com/hamid/our-practice/our-procedures/dental-implants-for-dentures/

Here's an informational link on dental implants - I hope this helps!