Simple way to Remove those Stains

 My last post was voicing concerns about staining.

Staining IS going to happen, 

however, other than routine professional cleanings for your hybrid dentures, 

you really need to invest in an electric toothbrush. 

My preference is Sonicare.  

Choose a toothpaste that you like.  

Concentration on stained areas will remove them quite easily.

Under the advise of my Dental Technician, 

I kept the Sonicare toothbrush running on a stained area for a long time.  

VOILA!

ALL GONE!

Well, mostly.  

The composite that is placed over the screws to hide them will retain some sort of staining, but it can be minimized by having the patience to concentrate the toothbrush in that area longer than you normally would.  

I had my 3-month cleaning just recently 

& the Dental Technician was highly impressed.  

She could tell a huge difference in not only the staining being kept under control, 

but the cleanliness in general. 

Because of my gum disease history

and the fact that plaque and tartar (hardened plaque) buildup will be something that I will always deal with because it's in my saliva in the bottom jaw area, 

I will have to continue with 3-month cleanings.  

I'm happy with that!

In the meantime, between cleanings,

I not only brush well & use a WaterPik flosser,

but I also use a store-bought dental scaler. 

I'm able to reach underneath the bottom denture to scrape tartar buildup. 

These dentures have made a complete difference in my life. 

No more awful pain, soreness, bleeding, etc.

I was asked, 'would you do it all over again knowing everything you know today?'

My very quick answer was "ABSOLUTELY!"

I'm fastly approaching my 60th birthday!

WOW!

Having pretty teeth that function well 

and living virtually free of mouth pain

is truly a welcomed blessing!

Staining is Imminent

I was told that these permanent teeth would not stain,

unless I drank nothing but coffee....which I don't drink at all.

So, would a couple of glasses of red wine each night produce stains?

Perhaps.

I have an ever so slight browning in very tiny spots between my teeth. 

YIKES!

So slight, that I can't even get a photo of it to show you, 

but I certainly know it's there!

So.....yet another 'don't believe everything you're told'.

I scheduled an appointment with my local Periodontist 

for a cleaning, because he also does individual tooth implants, 

so they are professional at cleaning them.

I go in September.

I need the composite changed as well.

The composite is what covers the abutements (screws).

That is stained big time, which I was told that it would.

But, all in all, I'm pleased.

#1 - I no longer have painful gum disease.

#2 - I CHEW and eat anything I want to.

#3 - I do have whiter teeth than I've ever had before.

NOTE: If I find out that red wine is the culprit, 

I'm going to drink it through a stirring straw!

LOLOLOLOL!

BEFORE & AFTER Tweaking

Made my 1-1/2 hour trip to the Prosthodontist today

to get a couple of tweaks done.

The most noticable one is the eye tooth (a.k.a. canine tooth).

Looking at the photos below, the eye tooth has been circled to show you which one was buffed in order to slightly reduce its protruding appearance.

Tweaking like this is common practice,

however, this must be done ever so slightly. 

Once it's 'gone' - 

it's really GONE!

Meaning that once the tooth is buffed (it's like sanding it), 

you can't bring back what you took off. 

WHEW!

So happy it worked out!

When Your Teeth Keep Biting You....Time to break out the Mouth Guard!

LOL!!!

It's the TRUTH!

These hybrid denture teeth have a mind of their own...

at night while I'm fast asleep!

After too many times of being bitten in the middle of the night

and laying there in sheer pain....

enough is enough!

I tried a Mouth (Dental) Guard by DenTek like this one...

Following the instructions by placing in boiled water

and then biting to form around my teeth like this example....

my damn teeth couldn't bite me anymore!

LOL!

I had the BEST night's sleep

and woke up without my jaws hurting!

I'm still trying to adjust to having 'things' in my mouth, 

as in permanent dentures.  

So, I apparently clamp down very hard at night.

During the day I always feel a very strong 'tightness' 

and I've worried if it would feel like this forever.

After using a Dental Guard, 

no tightness at all today in my jaws!

WOW!

I'm sure happy!

Befores & Afters

The first 3 nights after getting my hybrid dentures installed, 
I was abruptly awakened by my mouth dropping open
with excruiating pain in the bottom area of my lower jaw!
EEEOOWWW!
It even hurt to touch the area, although I couldn't see any redness or bruising.
I decided to stick it out until seeing the Prosthodontist in less than 2 weeks. 
These strange occurrences suddenly just stopped!
YAY!
Apparently, a 'side effect' when your mouth, tongue and brain are all trying to get used to permanent structures in your mouth!

I also bit the hell out of the inside of my cheek 
in the early days following installation of my hybrid dentures.  
This happened while I was sound asleep!!
Talk about WAKE YOUR ASS UP QUICK!
Yet, another quirk in the process. 
I haven't bitten myself since...thank God!

The Prosthodontist did, however, file a couple of areas to adjust my bite.
I had more pressure on one side, but once he filed several back teeth, 
my bite is level now! YAY!
Also, one of the eye teeth (canines) was protruding further out than the other one and it was catching the inside of my lip.  
I was constantly pulling my lip away from it. 
He reduced the roundness and filed the bottom of it a little bit 
and that did the trick!

Remember, 
things need to feel right and BE RIGHT 
in order for you to enjoy your new teeth!

I'm beginning to accept my 'new look'. 

I don't look like myself,

but a friend offered great advice and told me to stop looking in the magnifying mirror and pin pointing all of these itty bitty flaws that only I would see.

I'm slowly becoming not so critical of myself.  

Although the best look of all is to smile...

I can't go around constantly smiling - with a smile plastered to my face. LOL!

So, I need to get used to the 'new look' I have.

Here are some photos to show you what I mean.
Granted, I'm 3 years younger in the photo on the left, 
but if you look at the area above my lip,
it's very obvious how bulky hybrid dentures are. 
They actually made my lips fuller.
I even experienced about a full week of chapped lips
& finally figured out why!
Parts of my lip were being exposed to air that hadn't been before. 
Interesting!

Now for Before & After smiling photos:
WOW!
What a huge difference!
I'd choose the hybrid dentures ANY day!

I'm very grateful and blessed to have been able to go through this process 
because the chronic gum disease that I had was awfully painful 
and very damaging to my health. 

There is a direct link between gum disease and heart disease 
because of the harmful mouth bacteria that travels thoughout the bloodstream.
I often wonder if my 3 heart attacks (all before age 50)
were at least partially caused by my gum disease. 

With that behind me, 
I can now move forward with enjoying, 
and being ever so grateful, 
to be able to chew again!

I'm even eating a bit healthier these days. 
Loving my homemade salads and Honey Nut Cheerios. 

NOT SO FAST!

Maybe I'm not as 'adventurous' as I should be.

What my title means is that you really should start out sort of slow & easy with eating in the beginning of getting your permanent dentures......

that is, if you aren't used to wearing dentures and chewing with them. 

I went from teeth - to no teeth.

My temporary dentures were ZERO help because the bottoms never ever adhered in place.  This is because the abutements (those are the screw tops that go into the actual implant) stood up above my gums.

So, there was no where for the dentures to grasp and hold on to.

The only reason the tops adhered and stayed in place 

is because of the palate piece. 

Speaking of - thank GOD permanent hybrid dentures don't have a palate piece!  That piece gags you and is just so very uncomfortable!  

I just don't know how people deal with it. 

I want a steak really bad.....but I'm not going to eat one until I'm 100% comfortable and chewing with confidence!

So, that's where the 'not so fast' advice to myself comes in.

Admittedly, I'm not 100% happy (right now), 

but you must realize that I'm a person that has to adapt to change over a period of time.  Change has never come easily for me.  Give me a little time and I'm certain I'll return with a more optimistic post!

Right now, here are my 'concerns' (complaints if you will). 

The bottoms are perfect.

However, I didn't realize just how this was going to be. 

A photo, to come shortly, is quite revealing and may gross out some people.  

But, because after having my bottom jaw bone shaved of its top layer (due to chronic gum disease) I barely had any jaw height left at all.  I kept wondering how in the world they would get a good fit on practically 'nothing'. 

First, here is a photo of the underside 

of the bottom permanent hybrid denture. 

The titanium structure on the underside is designed specifically 

to match the depth of each implant in my jaw.

This provides a perfectly straight alignment of the denture.

Unfortunately, as I assume there are many people in this same situation, 

because of the design of my bottom jaw permanent hybrid denture, 

it sits well above my actual jaw.  

If it wasn't made this way, I probably wouldn't have the proper bite.

The reason I'm showing such a 'graphic' photo 

is so that you have an understanding of what I'm describing.

Until you 'see' it, you can't fully grasp it.

This is where a WaterPik flossing unit comes in handy!

Although I was given samples of special "Super Floss" and 'threaders', 

I can tell you that they are a royal pain in the ass. 

So, it's the WaterPik for me!

Here are some images to help you understand the super floss & threaders.

Super floss is just that!  

It's a thick but somewhat 'fabric-like' floss. 

It's made especially to "grasp" food particles. 

The threader is what is used to go between implants or teeth 

and pull the super floss through.

In this image, it shows you exactly how to use the super floss with the threader.

Also, and most importantly for my post, 

this image resembles what my bottom dentures look like!

Sitting up above the actual jaw bone.

This is what the threader looks like.

When the day arrives (perhaps next year) that I'm able to eat out at a restaurant with friends and perhaps do more afterwards, I won't have my floss or my WaterPik so I will just have to swish water around in my mouth to loosen caught pieces of food hidden under my dentures. 

You would NOT believe what comes out of my mouth when I use the WaterPik!  OMG!

I will continue to post more updates and hopefully more advice for those planning, contemplating or actually going through this same procedure. 

Am I regretful?

NO!

Don't let a difference or something you have to get used to change your decision on whether to get hybrid dentures or not.  

Perhaps single tooth implants would be a 'better' way to go, 

but with all the medical issues I had, 

I just think getting it done in one big WACK was the way to go!

I wish all those out there the very best of luck 

should you choose permanent hybrid dentures. 

I feel very blessed to no longer have gum disease

and also to not have to wear temporary, removable dentures the rest of my life. 

I hope my blog is helping some to understand this lengthy

and life changing process. 

Don't give up!

Lisa : )

260 Days

That's right!

260 days.....(i.e. 37 weeks + 1 day)

equals

how long I've been without teeth!

Surgery to remove all teeth; shave off half of both jaw bones; 

install 5 implants on top & 5 on bottom

was August 13, 2019. 

With holidays and other delays, 

mainly COVID-19,

a standard 3-4 month (really and truly 6 month) process

turned into a 9-1/4 month stretch. 

WOW!

So here I am pictured with my new Permanent Hybrid Dentures:

Are you happy, Lisa?

(you may be asking)

There are definitely pros and cons.

However, the BIGGEST pro for me is ridding myself of horrible toxic gum disease!  

I will post more about this adventure soon.

Thx for dropping in!

Delays due to Coronavirus Pandemic - COVID-19

Initially, I was scheduled for April 20th to get my permanents.

Due to the evil COVID-19 I am now rescheduled for May 4th.

I'm not at all optimistic with this date. 

I'm quite sure that it will be once again postponed.

I'm not 'mad', but a little disappointed

that the Prosthodonist didn't make the hybrid dentures 

with the midline perfect in the beginning. 

Because of this, a delay is caused.

Had he made them correct - as far as the midline goes - I would have my premanents already and be able to eat regular foods. 

Oh well.

This is how it goes.

So, we shall see if May 4th proves to be a good date or not. 

I'm expecting 'not'. 

I feel very blessed to be able to swallow the foods that I can.

I can cook for myself and eat nutritionally.  

However, I 'dream' about my pistachio snacks; 

cereal with COLD milk because I no longer have sensitive teeth; 

bread - mainly TOAST!  Peanut Butter & Jelly toast to be exact!

Steak!

OMG!

Filet Mignon!

I plan to buy a whole beef tenderloin

and cook a steak in my new cast iron pot!

I found this beauty at a local feed store where I buy my pigeon food.

Here she is:

Identical to what my Mom had to cook her fabulous burgers in!

There are always blessings for those with open hearts!

Sometimes you just have to get CREATIVE

Firstly, my message in this post is to advise that you try to stay positive throughout your journey.  I certainly haven't been and I just hope that you learn a little from my experiences and perhaps have a different attitude than I did.  I just wasn't told everything up front and went into this journey pretty 'blind' with little to no knowlege of the big bumps that are encountered....

mainly not having the ability to CHEW.

I HAD to do something because of CHRONIC, unresolvable gum disease.  

I was losing bone and teeth. 

I opted for permanent hybrid dentures instead of removable dentures. 

I'm so happpy I made this decision

and I would make it exactly the same again.

========================================

Red Beans & Sausage

is a Louisiana 'staple'.

When you are unable to chew at all because your temporary dentures will never fit properly or stay in place because of the titanium implants in your mouth that don't allow for any adhesion on the bottom.....

you learn very quickly how to be creative, for lack of a better word, and compensate in order to be able to intake nutritious foods, 

especially those that are your favorites!

After the initial puree-ing of foods while your gums are healing and still sore, 

you graduate to more solid foods. 

I discovered a 'technique' of sorts, that probably every person, that has been through this or is going through this now, has already also discovered.

Once your gums are healed enough and don't hurt, 

you are able to 'eat' finely chopped up foods and although most of them are simply swallowed whole, you can 'squish' foods with your tongue up against your gums/implants. This 'squishing' replaces actual chewing.

So the foods are 'chewed' to some degree and easier to swallow.  

At the same time, you get a 'sense' of eating and this is a good thing 

for your well being throughout this journey.

Some foods I've found that this technique is good for:

tender chicken

beans

ground meat

pasta

potatoes (like chopped up scalloped potatoes)

tamales

Hope this 'tip' helps someone.

Now on to my Red Beans...

Here is what I mean by being creative....

This is what 2 lbs of Sausage looks like when the skin is removed and the inside is chopped up into tiny bits small enough to be swallowed whole.

and this is my 2 pounds of Rabideaux's Sausage (my fave) all chopped up and ready to jump in the pot with the red beans - LOL!

and here is the wonderful final product....

Yummy for my Tummy!

  Have a great safe & healthy week.

Lisa

Set Backs, Ups and Downs, Updates & COVID-19 Delay

Hello everyone!

So, my last post was Feb 18th (a month ago).

Remember when I was told that my permanents would arrive in 2-3 weeks...

and on Feb 18th I said that it was already 1 week behind this timing?

Well.....

Try-on #1 of my permanents occurred March 3rd.

The midline of the top & bottom was totally out of line.

The tops are perfectly lined up with the center of my lips.

The bottoms are not.

I immediately contacted the Prosthodontist after I was home 

and had a chance to really view the photos I had taken. 

You know, you get REALLY EXCITED when they put on your permanents for the first time and may not notice 'flaws'... like I honestly didn't "SEE" this misalignment because of my uplifted spirit!

My next appointment came up.

Try-on #2 was on March 12th.

The midline is perfect!

However,

the top denture is slightly slanted.

Although it's hard to see in the photos, 

believe me, it was there. 

The Technician said it before I did.

She kept looking away and then back at me again, 

thinking that maybe her eyes were playing tricks on her.

But, we both agreed that we were seeing the same thing. 

So, the Prosthodontist came in and after several looks; look away; look back

...he too was convinced.

They used a black marker to put lines on my top teeth so when the Prosthodontist would work on them, he would know exactly what to do to make them level.

Try-On #3 was March 17th.

These photos have the black markings on the teeth,

but they are now STRAIGHT - HOORAY!!

I was scheduled the following week to get my permanents installed!

Can you IMAGINE my excitment?!

Then, due to COVID-19, Louisiana issued a new, temporary law allowing for 

ONLY emergency dental cases. 

So, on the back burner I go once again.

My next appointment is now scheduled for April 20th......

Depending on whether the dental law is still in effect or not.

After getting so depressed last month, 

I stopped building up my hopes

as a protective measure for my health. 

I know that this will happen when it's supposed to happen.

Hang in there if you are in the same situation as me.

Best of luck

and keep moving forward!

It could be a whole lot worse

Depression Caused by the WAIT

Hello everyone!

Yes, the title is true.

Waiting to have permanent teeth that will allow for actually CHEWING 

of foods can cause depression & anxiety.

I will be the first to admit that I am depressed.

I already take anti-depressants and have for many, many years, 

but there are things in your life that can defeat these medications.

One obvious one for me is not being able to EAT!!

I have a HUGE bit of advice:

NEVER EVER BELIEVE ANY TIMELINE THAT YOUR 

DENTAL PROFESSIONAL TELLS YOU!!!

Originally, before all of this began, I was TOLD that this entire process, from surgery to healing to installation of permanent hybrid dentures 

would take 3-4 months!

After researching online, and also talking to a few who had been through this or were knowledgeable, I discovered that 6 months was the standard time! 

Soooooo - 6 months is what I put in my head.

This is the only thing that has 'saved' me from total insanity!
My surgery was August 13, 2019.

Four weeks ago, I was told "2-3 weeks and I would have my permanents". 

Well, we are now 1 week 'overdue'. 

I actually was stupid enough to BELIEVE them!

So, now I'm working on my mind to relax and believe that this will happen.....WHENEVER it will happen!

It still doesn't solve the issue of not being able to participate 

in a lovely dinner in a restaurant.

Or feeling comfortable to be in public!

My temporary dentures fit so poorly (the bottoms) 

that they make me look like a MONSTER.

It's even hard to DRINK with them. 

I usually take out the bottoms completely.

They are totally USELESS!!!!!

LOOK HOW HIDEOUS I LOOK!

I opened my mouth to show just how OUT OF LINE these bottom dentures are!  They don't in ANY WAY contribute to eating, much less aesthetics!

This was taken TODAY before I ran errands.

Guess what I did?

I took them OFF!

I speak better without the bottoms;

I look 'better' without the bottoms, 

except my mouth frowns without their support.

Bottom line is temporary dentures SUCK!

Tell yourself this is a 7 month process!

PREPARE to eat pureed foods while you are still healing. 

Then you can have foods that you can SWALLOW WHOLE.....

just to name a few - mashed potatoes; mac & cheese; FINELY cut up well cooked & tender chicken or ground meat; beans; rice; tender vegetables; spaghetti; tamales.

I want STEAK.

I want SALAD.

I want a BURGER.

I want fried ONION RINGS.

I want PISTACHIOS.

I want BREAD.