Those Who Have Dentures, HELP PLEASE!

[Ripvanann]

I don't know what to do. I truu am living proof of Murphy's Law! Please tell me what you think I should do here.

I had all of my teeth yanked last Thursday. The oral surgeon put the dentures in after the surgery. He spoke to my mom after the surgery. Even though it took an hour longer than he said it would, he told mum that everything went well, save for my bottom dentures were too big and I'd have to see my dentist on Monday ( I had 22 teeth removed, maybe that was what took the extra time?). That was it.

The dentures were so painful on both the uppers and lower, that I finally took them out in the wee hours of Friday morning. The swelling had my entire face swollen to the point where my eyes were closing. There's bruising on the right side of my face (chin and jaw). Also noticed that there's a big slice in my gums and cheek on the upper left side. No wonder the dentures were hurting! They were pulling on those stitches and the gum and cheek split, but there's still stitching.

Now on the bottom right there's a HUGE pool of blood on the gums and cheek. Do I just go see the dentist and let him deal with it since I couldn't keep the huge dentures in anyway? Do I go to the oral surgeon? I called the surgeon's office on Friday night and told them about how much pain I was in and about the huge swelling (didn't know about the cut gum and couldn't tell if that pool of blood was swelling or what). Take ibuprofen and go to E.R. if I think I need to. Love on call docs.

Any advice? The pain is much better by the way, I just have to keep trying to hide my toothless self from my kids and Iook like butt. I just can't fathom running around from doc to doc like this.

Thanks for listening. Sorry so long!

Peace and blessings,
~Andrea

[Bucky]

Andrea - you poor thing, nothing prepares you for dealing with the pain after having all those teeth pulled.

It does take a while to pull each tooth - plus, molars some times take a little longer than the rest.

I too had some black and blue marks on my face after the surgery.

It's too bad the bottom denture is too big, I think it would have helped reduce your swelling had it fit right and you had kept it in.

I'm sure the cut in your gums is part of your pain.  You will find out how tender gums are and how they can be affected by food trapped under your dentures, if your dentures don't fit right and cause rubbing, etc.  You will need several trips back to the dentist for them to make adjustments to your dentures.  If you don't address ill fitting dentures you WILL get sore spots and it will hurt to eat, etc.

It's important that your gums clot from the extractions, if it were me, I would not mess with the pool of blood (as you don't want to start the bleeding all over again) - and wait for your dental app't. on Monday.  Did they say anything about a warm salt water rinse?  Again, you WANT the clots to form and you don't want to get dry socket which is very painful.

I'm guessing they told you NOT to drink from a straw - you definitely don't want to do that.

I know it seems like an eternity away - but, try and hang in there until your appointment tomorrow.

Best wishes,
Bucky

[katie1111]

If you are still bleeding, use a wet tea bag.  I had excessive bleeding after having 3 teeth out and the wet tea bag finally stopped the bleeding.  The whole left side of my face, upper lip and left side of my neck swelled, but it eventually went down.  I had a dry socket after having a wisdom tooth extracted - it is very painful.  You need to leave whatever clots you have in place.  You could also try an ice pack.

[Ripvanann]

Thank you so much Nancy and Katie! This helps a ton! There have been so many people who've had them out and say things like "I was back to normal on day six." and "Didn't even need my pain meds on day three." No one talked about the bruising and swelling for days. I didn't bruise until yesterday and the swelling is down a wee bit, but this is day 4... I know it's not going to be gone in 2 days.

It's that dang spot where the stitches and split in my gums and cheek are that's causing most of the pain. There are also stitches coming out in the front and that is causing a good deal of pain. There's hardly any pain anywhere else. I could see then, feeling great after 6 days if it weren't for this stuff.

My after surgery care says NOTHING about not sucking! I knew this from listening to everyone on the forum! Nothing about dry sockets. The blood pool, stays the same with ice and heat. Honestly, I think it needs lanced and I bet that's what he'll do. Wonder if that will prevent me from getting the dentures put in tomorrow? There's no way he'll be able to even try to fit them as it is now. There's almost no crease between my cheek and gums.

I have had two clots come out, how do I prevent dry sockets from forming, other than no sucking?

Thanks again ladies! I feel much better about the situation now.

[LucyD]

Oh Andrea! I am so sorry. I haven't had teeth pulled except for my wisdom teeth many many years ago. And with those my whole face was swollen and black and blue and I was in bed for 5 days.
I just had to write to let you know others care.
I am also very, very angry at the oral surgeon on call that they did not offer to see you.
I would be tempted to go to the ER.
Keeping you in thoughts and prayers.

[Bucky]

Andrea - here's some information from WebMD that might help you:

"What Are the Symptoms of Dry Socket?

If you look into the site where the tooth was pulled, you'll probably see a dry-looking opening. Instead of a dark blood clot, there will just be whitish bone. The pain typically starts about 2 days after the tooth was pulled. Over time it becomes more severe and can radiate to your ear.

Other symptoms of dry socket include bad breath and an unpleasant smell and taste in your mouth.
How Is Dry Socket Treated?

You can take a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), such as aspirin or ibuprofen, to ease the discomfort. Sometimes these over-the-counter medications aren't enough to relieve the pain. When that's the case, your doctor may prescribe a stronger drug or will anesthetize the area.

Your dentist will clean the tooth socket, removing any debris from the hole, and then fill the socket with a medicated dressing or a special paste to promote healing. You'll probably have to come back to the dentist's office every day for a dressing change until the socket starts to heal and your pain lessens.

Your dentist may prescribe antibiotics to prevent the socket from becoming infected. To care for the dry socket at home, your dentist may recommend that you rinse with salt water or a special mouthwash every day."

WebMD
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Having 22 teeth removed is major surgery!  You have to treat your mouth gently for the first few days after surgery - no rinsing your mouth with gusto, like I mentioned before, this will remove the clots, which you DON'T want.

When I had one tooth develop dry socket I had to return to the dentist and he packed the tooth with some gauze (or something similar to it) that helped with the pain, etc.

With our Sjogren's and dry mouth - I'm not sure if we are more prone to dry socket or not.  I don't know.

When I had my appointments with the dentist (which I had almost monthly for a whole year - healing is a process and as your gums heal, you will need several adjustments to your dentures), if they had to keep the denture(s) to work on them, they would have me come in the side door so I didn't have to come through the lobby with all the other patients sitting there.  This was their suggestion, not mine - although, I appreciated it very much.

Good luck tomorrow.

Bucky

[Ripvanann]

Lucy you are very sweet, thank you! I going to the E.R. was/is somewhat tempting, but it's so expensive, so time consuming and often fruitless. I'm over tired and I just want to sleep... Hoping that tomorrow will bring some progress with the dentist. Thanks again.

Bucky, thanks so much for this information, you rock! I really appreciate your searching for me. You know that's exactly what I did when the clots came out "rinsed with gusto." What a goof I am, I thought it was good! I don't see any bone back there and it doesn't appear dry. Hopefully the dentist can pack it tomorrow. The other one came from west that slice is. It doesn't appear dry either, just sore. Thank you!

[stillinshockwithsjogrens]

I'm SO sorry for what you're going through    I was also told not to rinse with force. I took naproxen for pain and swelling and was given antibiotics for any infection, which I took for 10 days.  I did have a slight bone spur from the pulling, which was a tad bothersome, but not unduly painful, and resolved well enough, within a month.  The blood clots took a while, almost 10 days, to form where my upper teeth were pulled.

I had dry socket anyway, where one back tooth was pulled.  I rinsed gingerly with 50/50 water and hydrogen peroxide (was on antibiotics and Aleve anyway).  It felt better after several days.  I did not have an oral surgeon.  My dentist performed the extractions and prepared my dentures.

My dentist purposely did some preparation (slicing or cutting) in my lower front gums, where my mini-implants will be placed later this year.

I hope you're a little better in the morning (although mornings were the most difficult time for me).  And I hope your visit to the dentist brings you progress, relief and good communication.

I told my dentist every single thing that bothered me.  Almost every other day, for almost 3 weeks following the extractions.  He had to adjust my dentures every visit.  They felt too big also, but after a few relines already, filing, shaping, reshaping to my comfort, I can't complain. 

So I may have experienced what you are now, but to a much, much lesser degree.   All mine were pulled the beginning of November.  It seems like a long time ago now.  I sincerely hope you'll feel the same way in a few months.

Wishing you a speedy recovery...let us know how it goes tomorrow!

[harrigan]

Hi Andrea - I so hope you are starting to feel better soon. I had one extraction and dry socket and cannot imagine what you feeling now.  I would honestly rather be delivered of all 5 of my children consecutively than ever feel that pain again.  It went from my jaw to my collar bone, ear and even all the way to my thumb nail!  I was lucky that my GP had had it 2 weeks earlier and gave me tramadol to deal with the pain, though really nothing works for the first couple of days.

I just wanted you to know that you are incredibly brave, and will be able to join the others with your wealth of experience once you are through this difficult time.  Sending you gentle hugs xx Ailsa

[Katybarstool]

Hi Andrea

I hope you are feeling a lot better today. I can't believe that you had 22 teeth out in one go, and so little guidance about your recovery. The way you were treated sounds like torture, and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

Sending you a gentle, healing hug.

KAthyx

[Ripvanann]

Thank you all so much. You're such a wonderful source of comfort and support! I am feeling better today. The pain and swelling are easing up a bit. The blood pocket is still there. Without getting into the entire story, I didn't see my dentist today, but will at 12:15 tomorrow. We're supposed to get some bad weather here so I'm hoping he makes it to the office. I'll be there... take a dog sled if I have to! =)

Began with a migraine last night and realized that it was because I hadn't been sleeping with my oxygen because I was afraid of it causing dry sockets. Put it on and it went away almost immediately. Thank the Lord! All I could picture was heaving all the way to the E.R. and having all sorts of things go wrong with my mouth!

Thank you! Love you all!

[Velcro]

I hope your visit goes well today and you get some relief!

[ellieas]

Hi Everybody,
Well, it looks like I am heading in your direction. I have always had teeth problems,many crowns,bridges, cavities etc.I have been very good about dental hygiene and checkups.I was finally dx'd with Sjogrens in 2010, giving me some clue as to what was going on.
I recently moved to a new area(western  New York) after retiring(yay!). I went to a dentist for a routine 4 month cleaning and checkup. Well, I was shocked when they gave me the results of all the xrays and exams( best exam I ever had).They say that in addition to decay, i have bone loss and other issues.Their solutions: 1. do a whole mouth reconstruction,redoing bridges, partials etc.  2. total extractions with implanted dentures(it freaks me out to use the word). We are talking many thousands of dollars here,that I really don't have. I have no insuance right now but am looking for some.

I decided to call my  oncologists's nurse(lymphoma in remission)because chemo did alot of damage, too. She is checking with the University's Dental clinic. I decided, after reading these boards, that I should get an opinion from a dentist who has worked with these issues.
Thanks for letting me ramble, but I am so upset.
Any advice is welcome. Anyone in my area?

Hope you feel better.
Hugs,
Lesley

[Pisces24]

I had chemo R-Chop in 2012 myself.  The Sjogrens was coming along with getting the teeth bad and I think the chemo just 'put the nail in the coffin" so to speak.

I know the Sjogrens caused my teeth problems. I have 56 and up until about 10 years ago I only had 5 cavities my Whole Life!   Starting about 10 yrs ago I started getting at least 5 every checkup. You can't tell me it is old age! I know it is the Sjogrens.

I guess it was a trade off with the chemo - save me or keep my teeth awhile longer so at least my teeth can be somewhat replaced. 

[ellieas]

Thank you, Pisces. It seems like chemo side effects seem to keep coming.  I know that it is more important to save me than my teeth, but it is so upsetting to me. Where are you in the dental game?

Hugs,
Lesley