Dentures...

[Joe S.]

Who has them? What do you use to hold them in place? How does that affect your mouth?
I know we have discussed this before to some extent but that was implants versus dentures.

I was told by my hygienist in Brooklyn Park that I was the first male that she has ever seen. She said that she has a number of women.  I wonder where the others are and how they are doing.

The dentist spoke of little ability to drill and fill any more. Bone is disappearing even where teeth have been removed. This indicated dentures as the best option for me.

[KellyG999]

Funny you mention this Joe. (OK, not FUNNY, but coincidental...) I just spent my day off with 2.5 hours in the dentist chair, crowning yet another tooth that can't be filled any more. Looking back, I have had terrible trouble with my teet for years and the dentist always blamed me for not brushing enough. I brush three times a day, floss once, drink water and swish biotene all day. But yes, it's my fault...

I am looking for a dentists properly schooled in safely removing silver amalgam fillings, as I am positive for mercury sickness. So, if you are having work done on teeth with silver, please be extra cautious.

I hope you don't have to resort to dentures; however, my father did so 10 years ago and said it was the best move for him. There comes a point, as you know, where enough is enough. I am still hanging on. Oddly, I am deathly afraid of the numbness they impose on me there.

Take care.

Kelly

[Pisces24]

Kelly:  My dentist has the same attitude. I am age 54 and have taken better care of my teeth (all what you do) they last 10 years than I did my Whole Life.  Up until about 10 years ago I had 5 cavities TOTAL. Now I get 5 a year. Mine are not still bad yet but getting there. Mine knows I have SJS but just blames me. He sighs, rolls his eyes, askes me what I am doing to take care of my teeth and fills yet another cavity.

My mother used to always use the Seabond but that was some years back. I hope now they have been dentures and products out there.

[Tknapp717]

Is it very common to loose your teeth with Sjogrens? I really hope not.. Because if it is I wish my orthodontist would have told me this before I just invested a few thousand in braces    I tell ya they will do anything to make a quick buck.. or well a quick G would be more accurate.

[Joe S.]

I have a female dentist. I have had her for years. She commented on my dry mouth and possible Sjogren's long before I went to my first Rheumy. My old hygienist Knew of the Sjogren's issue. Current xrays are showing a lot of bone loss from Sjogren's. I wonder if there is a calcium loss issue with this AI disease? Is osteoporosis  higher among people with Sjogren's?

The insurance company will only pay for two cleanings when 4 are needed per year. They will pay for fillings and root canals but not removals. I will have to see what they will pay for dentures.

Thanks for the note on Seabond. I had hoped that someone with Sjogren's and Dentures would respond.

[susanep]

I have the sjogren's and dentures. Best thing I did. My mouth stayed so infected before due to my teeth. They would break off over nothing. I haven't had to use anything yet to keep my dentures in, but I probably will soon due to the changes after a year of having them. I have one sore place sjogren's related that is sore, and I need to see the dentist for that so he can grind that area of the denture base to feel better.

The dentures I had made by a dentist himself who does some, are really nice. Most end up saying their bottom dentures don't feel right and quit wearing them, but mine were made well so I don't feel that way.

Good Luck
susanep 

[Meld256]

Joe,

You may have read part of my recent "epic saga" of extraction and dentures at the end of April.  So I know what you are going through somewhat!

The osteoporosis question; I don't know, but will research more. Interesting...

Bone loss may indicate it's time for dentures since your teeth no longer have that "base" to hold them, plus any other issues happening. I had many absesses and infections around my teeth before the top teeth were all extracted and got the top plate. I am having the bottoms done later, but so glad I did the top so far!

If the denture fits well, you may not need any adhesive or not for a long time. I don't at this point; I used something the dentist gave me while in the healing process (before getting the fit right) called Fixodent Complete one day and it held so well I thought I'd never get the teeth out later!  Like Gorilla Glue!

Hopefully, you can get some good news from insurance. Your cost of a well-made set of dentures may seem a bit high, but the long-term benefits of not having all those fillings and cleanings may certainly be worth it. I'm very happy with mine; they are actually better-looking than my "real teeth" were and look natural, too.
Good luck. Keep us posted.
Melinda

[Meld256]

Tknapp,

To your question if many of us loose our teeth; some of us do.  That's not a good answer, I know.

For me, my Sjogren's "issues" seemed to smack me in the face (literally) about 18 mths. ago. But I was 53 years old. I probably had these problems lurking in my body for a very long time, not knowing it. Had I known much younger I may have been treated then and known to beware of the teeth problems that are "possible" but not absolute.

You may already know this, but our saliva is very important in keeping bacteria at bay. It has all kinds of enzymes that wash away any little nasties that are always there. When saliva is diminished, the bacteria has a chance to latch onto our teeth and go crazy, causing cavities to form quickly. I learned a hallmark sign is cavities forming on the back side of teeth near the gum.

So guess I'm saying since you are much younger, you can take action and may never have these kinds of problems. Take diligent care of those pearly whites, do whatever needed to combat mouth dryness, have extra dental checkups, and you should be able to keep them a very long time.
Melinda 

[Joe S.]

Since I started to generate the high frequency tones to kill bacteria my infections are one to three days. The mumps scarf also seems to help reduce infections.

Susan and Meld thank you for your information. I never thought of just doing upper. My dentist thought about doing additional root canals under my crowns. I thought the root canal had been done already. We will see how the drilling and filling sessions go. They should last for 3 to 6 months.

[irish]

Joe, First of all, you are probably getting to the age that the osteoporosis is going to show up. Sorry about that!!!!

Anyway, I would ask the doc to check your vitamin D level. Taking the calcium tabs is all well and good, but they are finding out that people in our country are so low in vitamin D and that is what really helps the calicum to be absorbed by the body.

Secondly, the people with Sjogrens would need to be well educated at a higher level about the very distinct possibility of losing their teeth. It comes with the territory. Reason being: We don't make normal saliva which in turn puts us at higher risk for cavities and gum disease. The hundreds of bacteria that live in the normal saliva are what maintains the health and integrity of our teeth and gums. Once we start with the lousy, thick, weird saliva we start having problems with our teeth. The last year I had my teeth I had 25 cavities---the last 17 I refused to have filled and my new dentist just slowly pulled a tooth or two at a time to see if I felt any better, which I did.

Joe, I think that having the teeth pulled gives a person a new lease on life because it gets us out of our many hours in the dentists chair and it saves us big bucks. I am so disgusted with the dentists who think they must save every tooth and especially the ones who push the implants on people with autoimmune disease. The implants can be a very dangerous and potentially life threatening issue for those of us with autoimmune disease because of the higher risk of infection. I had one dentist that I had to argue with all the time. I refused to spend big bucks on bridges and bought the cheapest one he had---which made him unhappy. I also refused the implants which saved my life cause of my infection issues.

Please know that I use the Walmart brand on my top denture because I don't want it to stick too tight to get out at the end of the day. The bottom ones are harder to keep adhered, so I use the Fixodent (which causes a tighter "stick" than the Equate brand) with no problem. I have to put it on at least 2 times a day, but that is not big deal. You can do that in the car or the rest room if need be.

I eat corn on the cob, pop corn and just about anything I want. The one thing that I do that makes life easier is that I cut my sandwiches in half or fourths in order to accommodate getting that big bite. It is harder to chew well on some foods so it does help by cutting them into smaller peices. I have not gone hungry or had to change my life because of my teeth. Also, I have noticed that when I drink a lot of hot beverages is when I lose the sticky on me adhesive. Good for me to know when I am out and about so I watch the beverages.

The one thing that I have trouble eating is caramel. This is the pits as it sticks so badly to the teeth and is also hard to swallow. With dentures you have to make sure that you chew your food a little longer sometimes as the chewing process is not quite as good with our own teeth plus having the roof of your mouth covered by a denture makes it a little harder to initiate a swallow. You lose some of that normal sensation with foods not touching the roof of your mouth. All in all I do not miss my own teeth. The biggest thing I have problems with is it takes a little longer getting ready in the morning.

After living with dentures and talking with my dentist I have come to the conclusion that many people sort of pre-destin themselves for trouble. They are so concerned about the "feel" and the "look" that they have a lot of trouble adjusting to their dentures. My attitude is that we are lucky to be able to get rid of the big offenders in our life and dentures are a small price to pay. Also, being older gives you that "what the heck" attitude cause you know that there are a lot bigger problems than your physical appearance. We could find our name in the obituaries and then it would make our appearance seems like just a blip on the radar. Good luck. Irish

[Joe S.]

My folks had dentures from before my memory. Thanks for your input.

[hollowoakfarm]

I'm only 52 and ended up in dentures at 50.  Similar story to many here, and some lovely bone loss, too.  We had decided to just pull what was left of the top and do a top denture, but continue repairs on the bottom.  However, the oral surgeon discovered that the bone loss on the bottom was so severe, he said I would lose my bottom teeth within a year or so anyway, as the bone behind them was so thin he didn't see how they were staying put as it was.  So we ended up doing full dentures.

Because of the bone loss and the lack of saliva, we had to put in implants the dentures could attach to, to hold them in.  And the bone loss was so big, we had to do bone grafts to have enough bone to put the implants in.  Not fun, but I heal quickly, so just dealt with it.

[Joe S.]

Wow. What a challenge.

[susanep]

Joe, top dentures are the easiest to stay in and fit well. Just in case you thought of top first.

susanep 

[Joe S.]

Thanks for the info Susan.