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Question:  My dog got ahold of my upper plate after they'd fell out during sleep and I can't afford to replace them. Is there an answer?

Feb 23, 2011 3:46 pm

Unfortunately, if your dentures were damaged by your dog, repairs may not be possible and you may need to replace the denture. It is never a good idea to sleep with dentures in your mouth as your gum tissues need to have a period during the day to “heal” after wearing the dentures all day. You may seek treatment at a local dental school clinic if one is located near you. Dental schools often make dentures for patients at a reduced fee. Also, you may speak to your dentist or prosthodontist who made your denture and perhaps he or she will consider remaking the replacement denture at a reduced fee.

Response provided by the American College of Prosthodontists

Question:  what can be done to get rid of drymouth with dentures

Feb 23, 2011 3:45 pm

The problem of “dry mouth” is often a difficult one to solve. Denture use may result in the opposite problem – too much saliva is often reported after patients start wearing dentures, because the placement of the dentures in a patient’s mouth stimulates the saliva glands and more saliva is produced. Dry mouth may be caused by many medications, aging or be a symptom of an auto-immune condition. Your mouth may have been dry prior to the delivery of your dentures, but you may have just become aware of the condition because some moisture from saliva is required to help keep your dentures in place. You may need to frequently sip water and you may want to keep a bottle of water handy. Also, sucking on a sugar-free candy may also help to stimulate an increase in saliva flow. You should check with your dentist or prosthodontist, or even with your physician if you are experiencing continued symptoms.

Response provided by the American College of Prosthodontists

Question:  how do upper dentures without the pallet work ? I dont like the plastic feel in my mouth. I would like my natural pallet taste.Cant afford the implants can that work ? And is this possible ?

Feb 23, 2011 3:44 pm

The palate of upper dentures helps to keep the denture stable and is necessary to for the suction needed. Without the palate, dentures do not stay in place very well and will fall onto the tongue causing gagging and preventing their use. The only way around this is to use a small amount of denture adhesive to keep the denture in place, but this does not always work for those patients who have limited jawbone size. Consult your dentist or prosthodontist to learn more about options that may work best for you. To find a prosthodontist near you visit www.gotoapro.org.

Response provided by the American College of Prosthodontists

Question:  I need to have my lower teeth removed Imon warfarin sodium how long should I be off this before having my teeth pulled.

Feb 23, 2011 3:43 pm

Warfarin sodium is a blood thinner, which many patients are given for a number of reasons. If your physician approves of the medication being stopped, then it would take almost five days or as little as three days for the extractions to be safely done. Sometimes the the medication does not have to be stopped since the amount of blood thinning is minor and will not affect having the teeth removed. A special blood test call the “INR” will tell how much the blood is thinned and can be helpful to find out if stopping the medication is necessary at all. The best advice comes from your physician.

Response provided by the American College of Prosthodontists

Question:  how do you get gum off of dentures?

Feb 23, 2011 3:41 pm

The best way to remove gum from a denture is to place the dentures in the freezer and then chip off the gum once it hardens using your fingernail or carefully with a small instrument. Once the bulk of the gum has been removed, you may be able to remove any small residue of gum with a brush with stiff plastic bristles and carefully scrub the denture while running it under warm water. Do not boil the dentures or use harsh chemicals (like spot remover or nail polish remover) on the denture, as these chemicals will damage the acrylic plastic material of which most dentures are made.

Response provided by the American College of Prosthodontists

Question:  my bottom denturews keep breaking in half is there anyway to get just the bottom made

Feb 23, 2011 3:39 pm

It may be possible, but not likely than you can achieve a good result by only remaking one denture. If the dentures are more than a couple of years old, your gums may have changed enough that the fits isn’t quite right. Other “technical problems” may exist with your upper denture that you haven’t noticed, but they can influence your smile and how you chew. Nearly 99.9 percent of the time you will have a better outcome if you remake both dentures as a matched set, and the dentist or prosthodontist can control all the factors that influence your smile and your bite.

Response provided by the American College of Prosthodontists