So I had 21 extractions and immediate dentures placed yesterday....

(Can't find my original pre-surgery anxiety thread or I would have bumped it....)

I am SO happy with my smile! The only way you can tell that I have dentures is the metallic clasps on the partial on the bottom over my canines. They matched my teeth color very well. Considering the immediate dentures are always made more cheaply than the permanent dentures, I bet my permanent denture will look even better!

I can see why the denture place didn't really want to do extractions on me -- the Von Willebrand's did end up making the oral surgeon speed up the procedure near the end as he was worried about blood loss even though he had an IV in to make sure I kept good blood pressure, and he had to put more sutures in than normal. For the first six hours after I got home I had to change the gauze I was having to wedge in between my gum and my front (natural) teeth every 10-15 minutes because it would get soaked with blood. I felt a little light-headed and weak yesterday, but I've been drinking a lot of fluids and taking iron supplements, so I feel much stronger today. I finally got so hungry that I decided I was going to have some ice cream regardless of the bleeding, and the cold against the plates seemed to do the trick -- it took me nearly an hour to eat the dish, but by the time I had finished the disk I wasn't bleeding anymore. Yippee!

Yesterday I had a really hard time talking after the numbness wore off because the top plate kept falling down. This morning I did the first of the salt-water rinses I was told to do, and it was NOT pleasant... put the plates back in and went to bed. I woke up only to take my meds (the oral surgeon said to set an alarm every 4 hours to take the pain meds or I'd end up hurting a lot worse) today, but now that I'm awake this evening the top plate feels very, very tight, and so does the bottom. I'm not sure I can get the plates off to do the next of the rinses, or if I do get them off if I'll be able to get them back on. If the swelling hasn't gone down by in the morning I'll call to ask if they have any advice, but I'm not going to take them out again to rinse tonight with how tight they are at the moment. (I don't think anything foodish can get under them right now!)

Pain-wise, I seem to be doing better than a friend who had three wisdom teeth out yesterday. He may not be taking his meds like he's supposed to, but he said he is in absolute agony and that it hurts worse now than the teeth did before. For me, the pain I'm in is so different from the pain I had from all of the exposed nerves that it's really hard to compare the two. I'm very sore and definitely uncomfortable, but I'm not having shooting nerve pains anymore.... overall I think I prefer this to the shooting nerve pains. And it can only get better!

Overall, I am quite pleased and looking forward to healed gums and learning how to talk without slurring!

I never knew they could do so many at once, but it sounds like you're in good hands.

I've only had one extraction (this year) and was amazed with the artificial bone substance my dentist used to fill in the hole. You can't tell now. I only wished they had such a thing back when I had my wisdom teeth removed. Might have made it heal faster.

Speaking of wisdom teeth, the dentist I had at the time suggested using a wet tea bag to help contract the blood vessels. It worked quite well, so if the bleeding is still bad, maybe try that or ask your oral surgeon. Also, I hope they have you on antibiotics. That's always helped me with gum swelling and inflammation. The saltwater rinse is important, too.

Interesting you mention the difference between tooth pain and extraction pain. They are indeed very different. I think it's that tooth pain is just so intense versus the aching pain of an extraction, or it is with me ;)

Do everything they tell you to and get better! Then you can show us your new smile :D

... that's what I used when I had a rear molar extracted, and it did stop the bleeding then. I wish the surface of the immediate denture was as soft as a teabag, but it's nice to be able to cool off the plates by eating ice cream or chilled lowfat pudding -- that actually brought the swelling down last night enough for me to do the salt water rinses last night.

Yeah, the pain from exposed nerves is *incredibly* intense! I'm definitely sore, my gums do not feel good and the roof of my mouth where the plate ends is sore. But it's not drilling through my skull like a Dremel -- which is what the nerve pain felt like!

I'd never heard of an artificial bone filler! That sounds really cool. I bet that would totally prevent dry socket. I'm a smoker and the last 48 hours have been hell, I had my first cigarette this morning and it tasted SO good! I'm quitting in February, but I'm enjoying them while I have them. I don't think I would be fit to deal with if I was dealing with both this pain and nicotine withdrawal. Even now I'm only smoking when the plates feel really tight and even then I'm putting gauze between the plates in the back to push on the plates and keep the smoke away from the extraction site, and puffing very, very carefully. I'm getting a lot more air than I am smoke because I'm not sealing my lips around the cig, but I don't want dry socket.

so I'll just take your word for it and what's working for you ;)

I looked for information on bone grafts and found a good rundown of the main types used on wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bone_grafting#Types_and_Tissue_Sources

I thought for sure my dentist said the graft was artificial or synthetic, but I don't know the specific brand or type. I do know from looking at the x-rays that the new bone there is solid and looks perfect :D

Good luck quitting smoking and still being able to smoke without causing dry socket. I don't know what the therapy is for that, but would bet it's expensive. I have known two people that quit smoking with Chantix, one being my past-wife (ex, for those not using this term...) She had no problems with it, while another friend said he did have the suicidal thoughts that are considered one of the major "side effects". He got through it okay and was still happy to have taken it to quit.

Damn, I had two wisdom teeth yanked at once, and then the other two the following week. And the first two holes hadn't totally healed yet. Can't imagine 21 at once! :scared:

The surgeon's nurse called yesterday and reminded me to follow the instructions exactly on the painkillers -- need to have the next pill in my stomach and starting to hit my bloodstream before the previous pill wears off. It's much easier to keep pain under control than it is to bring the pain down to bearable levels -- where right now one of them is enough, if I let the pill wear off I might have to take one and a half or two to get my pain back down if I let it wear off.

It kind of sucks to have my sleep interrupted, but I've used my cell phone's alarm as my reminder and it's worked pretty well.

Glad everything went well for you...hope you feel even better tomorrow!

Here's your original thread: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=9059224

Good luck! :hi:

... but even now I'm happier than I was. My gums don't feel good at all, and I am so hungry I would kill for a hamburger, but looking in the mirror and seeing my pretty smile is worth it for me. (Dole's Peaches and Cream parfait cups are very, very tasty chilled!)

So far the worst pain has been after the salt water rinses when I put the bottom partial plate in. The metal clasps aren't very comfortable at first. So I'm doing them when I can tell my pain pill is well-absorbed, and not close to time to take my next one.

but actually put me into suspended animation over that.

I'm glad you love your smile, use it often.

I'm glad to get it all over with at once -- I've taken a week off of work so I can recover and learn how to speak with these things in my mouth. I'm getting better at it, it's just difficult to make certain sounds without whistling or slurring.

The first time I smiled in the mirror I felt like Wednesday Addams smiling in Addams Family Values -- my face hasn't smiled widely in so long that it felt really odd. But I feel so pretty! It's amazing what pretty teeth can do for your self-esteem.

moriah, I followed your earlier thread and was hoping you'd keep us posted. Thank you so much for sharing this experience, I could be doing the same thing in the not-too-distant future and you've given me an idea of what to expect. I wish you multitudes of reasons to smile.

Other than them having to stick me three times to get the IV started, I felt no pain during the procedure at all. The last thing I remember after they started the IV and shot some medicine in it was them putting some plastic thing in my mouth to hold my jaws open, and when I came back to myself I had my immediate dentures already in. They made me rest there about 20 minutes, even though I could have gotten up -- I had them hand me my Kindle and I read for that 20 minutes.

I can tell that I'll probably never be able to eat the same way again -- but I could barely eat before this, at least not without significant pain. They warned me there was a learning curve -- that it's like getting used to an artificial limb.

I think I am in more pain right now than some people would be because I can tell I'm grinding my teeth. I've been a grinder since I was a little kid -- the first time I went to the dentist at age 8 he was shocked at how far I'd ground my teeth down. Mom got asked some really uncomfortable questions, since grinding is usually a stress-related behavior -- the dentist couldn't think of anything that should make an 8-year-old that stressed out! I bet that if I wasn't clenching my jaws in my sleep that my gums would feel better right now. But even with that, I think I made the right decision.

One hint -- they're going to tell you to take your first pain pill while you are still numb. Be very, very careful! I was still bleeding like a stuck pig when I could feel some of the numb wearing off, so I tried to take my pain pill. It's very, very difficult to swallow with numb lips. Bloody water went EVERYWHERE... I got it cleaned up, but I feel for the person who lives here next if they are ever investigated for murder.... heh.

Especially hearing about how you enjoy smiling. I'm going to be getting dentures within the next year or so, and I can't wait until I can smile without covering my mouth.

Because I'm post-radiation, dentists will *not* pull any teeth, no matter how bad they are.

So I can "look forward" to the expense and pain of saving a mouth full of crumbling teeth via root canals and the like.

Tucker

... I would think that they would want to get sources of infection out of the body -- since radiation treatment does lower ones immune system somewhat, I would think they wouldn't want to leave anything there that could get infected and cause significant problems. An abscessed tooth can be deadly to even a person with a good immune system.

I guess I'll never understand doctors....

The radiation kills the salivary glands, leaving the teeth unprotected. Because the bones won't heal post-radiation, the standard thing used to be to get the teeth out first, let the bones heal up, then irradiate.

My oncologist thought that a combination of newer, more focused radiation techniques and a medication that helps protect the salivary glands, combined with my young age and the fact that my teeth were all in great condition, would mean my teeth would hold up until I got some salivary function back and then I'd be okay, as long as I had good routine dental care. (At that time I was married and had good insurance, a condition that I didn't know was about to be ended by my illness: 75% of marriages break up during cancer, and mine was no exception.)

So, my oncologist guessed wrong.

I am six years post-treatment.

About two years ago I had a tooth infect so badly that the infection made a hole into my sinus, and I had constant sinus infections that didn't go away until after the root canal.

Did you know that Queen Victoria had similar abcesses through much of her reign? She was in incredible pain while making crucial policy decisions. So it's, historically, not all that unusual.

Tucker

She spent tens of thousands on her teeth prior to radiation--root canals, deep cleanings, etc.

I just found out 2 weeks ago that due to excessive bone loss (heredity) I have to get all my teeth pulled and dentures. That will be 32 or so teeth. The sad thing is that all my teeth are strong, they are just not in the jaw anymore.

I am definitely enjoying being able to smile! It's a bit hard to re-teach my face how to smile and let it show my teeth -- it's been so long since I've smiled without trying to hide my teeth that a full smile feels awkward. But I'm enjoying learning!

I ran out of pain medicine late Thursday night, and tried to tough it out on just the Motrin -- no good. I took a Phenergan so I would sleep, and I thought it was a good idea, but I woke up clenching my jaw in pain and had drooled all over my pillow. (Even with the Evoxac I've never done that before!) I called the denture place and they worked me in. The dentist there verified that I had avoided any dry sockets (considering I'm a smoker and I've had nasty sinus drainage this week -- apparently even sneezing can cause the clot to dislodge -- I'm rather proud of myself), and ground down the edges of the plate that were cutting into my gums while they were swollen. It does feel a lot better now that the edges aren't cutting in, and the swelling is starting to come down now.

The receptionist thought that perhaps I could get the soft reline done today, which would help quite a bit with the pain, but the dentist said I was too tender yet to do it (it involves them putting some stuff in the denture and then biting down hard for a few minutes to set it). He wrote me some more pain medicine, and he's hopeful I will be able to tolerate the soft reline on Monday.

The salt water rinses are actually starting to feel good instead of feeling like torture. I've been eating diced peaches, chicken noodle and vegetable soup, and chilled pudding -- I still have some of a pint of ice cream but I am trying to save that for pain relief purposes as my figure does NOT need the additional calories. (I would kill for a hamburger.... heh. Maybe I can try a grilled cheese sammich.) I'm talking a little better now but I'm still having trouble with some sounds. Since I work in a call center, clear speech is very important -- I hope by the time I go back to work Thursday that I'll be speaking more clearly. I've been practicing by reading aloud (the Wheel of Time series, I'm re-reading it in preparation for the release of The Gathering Storm at the end of the month) -- my cat appears amused.

If I had it to do all over again, I think the only thing I would change is running out of pain meds Thursday night -- maybe I'm a wimp (scratch that, I know I'm a wimp) but the pain medicine doesn't make all of the pain go away, it just makes it bearable. It was not bearable without it. Still better than feeling like a Dremel tool was boring through my skull, but that doesn't mean it feels like a massage. :)

Good luck to those of you who are dealing with dental pain or are considering dentures. It's not an easy fix, and if you just want them to make your smile pretty I wouldn't recommend it -- the fact I can smile brightly right now is a side benefit, getting the Dremel away from my skull was the primary goal. :) But at least I know that this pain WILL get better, whereas the pain I was in before was only getting worse.

I'll get to have the same experience in the next year or so and am not looking forward to it. BUT--a friend of mine who has had dentures for over 10 years told me that she can eat just about anything: corn on the cob, apples, etc. She can even chew ice!

The radiation burned out my salivary glands, and Saligen didn't work for me (it made me sweat, but not spit). A couple of years ago my GP put me on Evoxac and it actually got a trickle of saliva going. Unfortunately I'm uninsured with no income at the moment, and a month's supply is about $300.

Before the radiation, I had never even had a cavity. I was 28.

Now, my mouth is falling apart; when I had a job and insurance I got one root canal done (of about four that I needed then, probably more now) and even with coverage and going to the university's low-cost clinic, I still had to borrow money from family to afford it.

Tucker

It's hard for a lot of people to grasp just how much damage dry mouth does to your teeth.... a lot of people have looked at me like I was crazy to blame it on the Sjogren's. I'm sure my smoking didn't help matters either, nor the fact that I like Coca-Cola.... but according to most dentists, a thorough brush-n-floss once a day is all that's needed to keep cavities away. Not true if you don't have enough saliva, not by a long shot.

I'm not sure if you have a mouthwash you prefer, but as far as OTC stuff I am rather fond of Tom's of Maine's fluoride/xylitol rinse -- it's lemon-lime flavor so it's actually a taste I can stand.

I still don't get why the doctors won't consider pulling teeth for you. I can't see how retaining sources of infection can possibly be better than pulling them. They warned me that I will likely have to stay on the Evoxac even if they pulled all of my teeth, and that dry mouth would make wearing dentures very difficult, but none of the dentists or doctors I saw seemed to think that it would be better for me to keep getting abscesses. But I don't know much at all about radiation treatment aftereffects....

(Edit -- saw your other post and Googled, I understand now... yeah, dead bone would probably be worse)