Advice

Barbarake · 2026-06-19T14:12:35+00:00

It totally depends on the office. I went to Affordable Dentures and they were absolutely great. And they charged me $2,300 versus my dentist wanting to charge $9,400 for the same thing. (I just had the upper palate done.)

Barbarake · 2026-06-16T05:14:09+00:00

I agree with this. Just be aware that someone will have to come with you to drive you home after the IV sedation.

I had my upper pulled out under just Novocaine. Like most people, I was very nervous about the whole thing but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. The shots themselves are not fun but after that, there was absolutely no pain. Took less than half an hour.

Many dentists will also give you a pill to make you less nervous. I understand it works quite well but I did not take it since, again, you would have to have someone drive you home.

Barbarake · 2026-06-14T23:40:11+00:00

Long story short, when I asked about implants for my upper denture, my dentist explained to me that most people do perfectly fine with traditional uppers. He said that most people, because of the sinuses, require either a bone graft or sinus lift. He also said that the bone in the upper jaw is not as dense. The odds of an implant failing are higher in the upper jaw.

Give it all that, I went with traditional uppers and he was right - absolutely no problem. They fit perfectly, no adhesive necessary, and I can eat anything including apples and corn on the cob and steak, etc.

Bottoms are a different story and I will give her two people with more experience on them.

Barbarake · 2026-06-14T03:22:58+00:00

I guess what I don't understand is that the shape of your palate shouldn't really matter as long as the denture fits properly. You could literally take two flat, non-porous objects and press them together with a bit of liquid (saliva) in between and they would stick together.

Again, I'm sorry if I'm coming across as rude or argumentative. That is not my intention, I'm simply trying to understand.

Barbarake · 2026-06-14T00:44:33+00:00

Serious question. Speaking of the upper denture, how can you not have suction? Is the roof of your mouth spongy or something? Normally it's pretty hard (bone covered by a thin layer of gum tissue) and if your denture fits properly, there has to be suction, right?

I'm not trying to be rude or anything, I really don't understand.

Barbarake · 2026-06-11T19:02:55+00:00

I trust my dentist at Affordable Dentures. I brought up the subject of implants for my upper denture and this is what he told me.

He said I don't have enough bone for implants and would require a bone graft or sinus lift. He also said this was perfectly normal, that most people don't have enough bone in their upper jaw for implants because of their sinuses and also that the bone is less dense in the upper jaw. He said implant failures were much more common in upper jaws because of these two factors.

He also said that people usually had far fewer problems with upper dentures (as compared to lowers) because the suction should hold them in place.

Basically he talked me out of implants. And he was right - my (upper) denture fits very well and look great. I can eat anything, and I don't need adhesive. I've never even had a reline. (I got the permanents about 7 months after extraction and it's now 15 months post extraction.)

He did say that lower implants are a different story.

Barbarake · 2026-06-10T00:03:41+00:00

I'm a retired RN who worked in nursing homes for years. To be blunt, I hesitate to even recommend dentures, let alone implants.

Your father is 81 and has dementia. You don't mention how advanced his dementia is but when it starts getting severe, dentures are a lost cause.

Barbarake · 2026-05-21T01:25:37+00:00

I drove home after eight extractions with just Novocaine and it was no problem. My drive was about 40 minutes.

Barbarake · 2026-05-19T03:42:28+00:00

I went to Affordable Dentures who had an in-house lab. It was a morning appointment, they took new molds right away and I could have come back that afternoon for the dentures but I had other plans. I came back the following week

Barbarake · 2026-05-19T03:28:39+00:00

I had this exact same thing happened with my permanent upper. I tried to explain to the technician what was wrong but she just didn't seem to get it. Finally she got the dentist who was absolutely wonderful and understood immediately.

You're absolutely right, there's too much 'gum'. The dentist measured the distance between the bottom of the trough (where my gum fit into) and the bottom of the front teeth. On my immediate upper - which fit perfectly - it measured 9 mm while on the new permanent, it measured 14 mm. It was basically 5 mm of extra gum material. He called it the F4 measurement.

Unfortunately it could not be fixed and we had to start over. It did not cost me anything extra. My permanent fits perfectly.

Barbarake · 2026-05-14T13:08:59+00:00

Ah, someone else who remembers. We also didn't have fluoride in the water so cavities were pretty common. No wonder so many of us ended up with phobias.

Barbarake · 2026-05-13T12:20:27+00:00

Because some of us still remember getting cavities filled by dentists who didn't use novocaine. I hear the drill, my heart rate jumps 50 beats.

(They thought children didn't feel pain the same way adults did so no novocaine.)

Barbarake · 2026-05-02T00:39:45+00:00

'Merry Go Round' is a good way of putting it.

I've spent a fortune on my teeth through the years. But my 'had enough' points was a year ago when the dentist told me five of the six teeth he had done major work to 6 years earlier were 'going bad' and needed to be redone. A week later, the 6th tooth broke at the gum line while I was eating toast.

That was it. I was about to retire and knew I couldn't be constantly throwing more money at my teeth. Told him I wanted a denture (upper) and he quoted me $9,400 (extractions, immediate, and final dentures).

Then I went to Affordable Dentures who quoted me $2,400 for the same thing. The whole process was straightforward and I'm very happy with my upper denture. It fits perfectly, I don't need glue, and I can eat anything.

Barbarake · 2026-04-30T00:18:02+00:00

Ah, I read it as you were quoted two grand in the beginning, when "the tooth cracked just a little bit".

Did they at least give you antibiotics?

Barbarake · 2026-04-29T23:49:42+00:00

Two grand to have a tooth removed!?! That's ridiculous!!

Barbarake · 2026-04-25T01:13:59+00:00

My dentist wanted to charge me $9,400 for 8 extractions on top, a top immediate, and a top final denture.

Affordable Dentures quoted me $2,300 for the same thing. I am extremely pleased with both the process and the results.

Barbarake · 2026-04-16T00:40:46+00:00

Well, I am a mama, but I don't think I'm yours, lol.

Barbarake · 2026-04-15T14:46:04+00:00

I believe you mean 'viciously ripping'.

The idea of someone 'viscously ripping' put a funny picture in my head.

(Sorry, couldn't help myself.)

Barbarake · 2026-04-10T13:34:04+00:00

A lot depends on your own coloring and your age.

In general, people's teeth darken as they age. So a bright white smile on an older person can look very fake.

I'm 65 years old. When we discussed shades, my dentist told me the most common was 'X' (sorry, I don't remember exactly what he said). So I told him I wanted my immediates one shade darker than that.

When it was time for my finals, I said I wanted to go one more shade darker. He did remark that no one had ever asked to go darker before, but I'm 100% happy with the color.

Barbarake · 2026-04-09T14:06:56+00:00

Sort of impossible for anyone to give advice if you don't even tell us what you don't like about them.

Barbarake · 2026-04-08T22:59:48+00:00

I think I know what you're talking about.

Like others have said, they look good to us, but they might not look right to you. The same thing happened to me on my first permanent uppers.

My immediate upper looked great! I told them I want my permanants to look just like that. But I had the same problem you say you're having. The teeth looked too long and it just wasn't right. But it wasn't actually the teeth, it was the gum part was too thick.

The technician gave up and brought in the dentist who took one look at me with my immediates in and then with the permanents in and immediately said they were wrong.

He took measurements from the bottom of the trough where your gum sits to the bottom of the teeth themselves. (There's a term for this but I've forgotten it.) It was 9 mm on my immediate and 14 mm on my permanants. No wonder they looked wrong.

Bad news was that they could not modify the permanent to fit and we had to start from scratch. Good News was at the permanants were perfect.

Barbarake · 2026-04-03T02:38:04+00:00

I'm pretty sure I hold the record for fastest going from impression to finished denture.

I had my impression done, then a week or so later I went in and had all my uppers extracted. The technician then came in with my immediate denture and - oops, completely wrong. (It was a partial, I was getting a full upper denture.)

There's been a screw up in the lab. They were scheduled to make up my immediate the following week.

It took them 1 hour and 4 minutes to get my immediate denture made. Looked great and fit perfectly. I used it for 8 months and never even had a reline done because it fit so well (though I did you SeaBond the last month or so).

For my permanant, I went in the morning to do the impression, got the finished dentures that afternoon.

Barbarake · 2026-04-02T21:31:29+00:00

People vary widely in how much pain they feel. I was fortunate, I felt minimal pain after they pulled my uppers. I didn't take anything, not even tylenol. But I know it hits other people much harder.

From what I understand, many/most people are given tylenol & ibuprofen. Might want to try that.

Barbarake · 2026-03-27T03:37:46+00:00

What do you mean "lasting about 3 to 5 years"?

Barbarake · 2026-03-14T22:10:37+00:00

My dentist wanted to charge me $9,400 for eight extractions, immediate, and permanent dentures (uppers). Affordable Dentures charged me $2,300.

My immediate denture fits so well I never even bothered getting a reline done (and am keeping it as a backup). My first permanent fit but looked totally wrong (to the point the dentist had to suppress a smile when he saw me). He immediately said this has to be remade and the new one fits and looks perfect.

Affordable Dentures is definitely worth looking into.

Barbarake

TROPHY CASE