Liz Holloway Posted October 31, 2011 Share Posted October 31, 2011 Hi Amanda Sorry for delay in reply. 3 granddaughters staying put me out of action for a while! I think both Sjogren's & Scleroderma are the problem. There is bone & tissue loss hence the difficulty with implants, & the Sjogren's means dentures would probably not work. Nobody will come clean about the future so I understand Christine's fear of just gums! Can't cope with the idea you opened a bottle with your TEETH!! Don't know whether to be impressed or horrified! Good luck when you finally get the crown sorted. Liz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Amanda Thorpe Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Hello Liz You seem to have a double whammy, mind you scleroderma does like to bring friends along for the ride! I saw the photo from the West Sussex local group meeting with you, hubby and grandchildren in it...awww!! :terrific: Take care. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chockers Posted January 1, 2012 Author Share Posted January 1, 2012 Well having a root filling is out because dentist can not get my top of mouth up or open enough to do it .So he will look again in a few days when I go for a filling but infection is there most of time so I will have to have it out as really can't go on with it. Christine Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Amanda Thorpe Posted January 1, 2012 Share Posted January 1, 2012 Hello Christine Sorry you are having dental troubles and hope they can do something for you on your next visit. Take care. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jefa Posted January 24, 2012 Share Posted January 24, 2012 Just want to offer my experience on the topic: All of my teeth were removed. The decision was made because of severe erosion of the enamel and the interior of the teeth were crumbly making restoration impossible. I originally thought the erosion was from acid reflux but my rheumatologist said that Sjogrens was more likely the culprit as the dryness creates perfect conditions for the destruction of the enamel. They placed full dentures at the time of extraction, but these were more or less temporary as the mouth can change drastically after everything settles down and the underlying structures heal and find their form. Once this happened, I was able to get properly fitting dentures which look really great. I can eat some things with the dentures in and it is a slow process - certainly good for my diet! For the most part, however, I take them out when I eat and pop them back in after I have rinsed my mouth. It is amazing what you can actually eat without teeth. The idea of everything blended into pap is certainly not a necessity. Of course there are some things that are difficult or impossible to manage. The things I miss most are crunchy raw fruits and vegetables. I can east salad made with the softer young leaves and the firmer lettuce shredded fine. I can't eat nuts, tough meat, hard biscuits (unless they can be dunked) and hard breads. I can eat some crisps (I find I only want one or two, mostly for the flavour. I can handle a bit of toffee with a cup of coffee. Biting is an issue, but I have learned to cut things into bite sized pieces. My husband and I (he had his out at the same time) make our sandwiches and cut them into sixteen pieces with a few good whacks of the knife and invert them onto the plate from the cutting board. It looks posh! I find myself tearing bits of cake or bread off with my thumb and forefinger or cutting up my food on the plate before I start eating. In other words, you adapt. Unfortunately, because of the dryness, leaving the dentures in for a long time can be uncomfortable. With or without the teeth, I suck on sugarless mints throughout the day which helps keep up the moisture. The artificial sweetener in them can cause diarrhea, but as some of the drugs I take cause constipation, it balances out quite nicely. If I had it to do again, I might have considered having a few strategic implants on the lower jaw as an anchor for the bottom plate, but I don't know whether the bone structure would have supported it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Amanda Thorpe Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Hello Jefa Lovely to hear fom you but disappointing that you can't eat with dentures in. My husband has dentures and recently had a new top set replaced and still can't eat with it and has yet to have the bottom set replaced. I just wonder when he'll be able to eat better and can't understand what the point of dentures is, apart from enabling talking, if you can't eat with them in! He has tried getting dentures from a dentist and from a dental clinic where they just make dentures but none of them seem to be any good! He was given one set so dark he looked like a 40 a day smoker and another set with teeth so small they looked like milk teeth. You'd think in 2012 they could do better! Take care. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chockers Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 Well, here's an update; the tooth is still my head ha ha .But the dentist looked and he got a tool and checked whether he could do a root filling . But my mouth is too tight for him to get in. Even if I just have it mildly. So when it hurts it's coming out .But at the moment I am not healing quickly as my thyroid is over active .So it's likely to be done quite soon; March time, I bet . Christine. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Joelf Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Hi Christine, Sorry to hear that your visit to the dentist was so unproductive. It's a shame that he can't save the tooth but you can be comforted by the thought that once it's been pulled it can't hurt anymore!! ;) Kind regards, Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Amanda Thorpe Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Hello Christine Better out than in, Michael had a troublesome tooth out rather than fight to keep it, the relief was immense and once it was over he couldn't think why he left it in so long! Take care. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chockers Posted January 26, 2012 Author Share Posted January 26, 2012 The Dentist did show me what he had to do to save it, but there's no way he can get in to do root filling. My mouth is tight or getting small. Have tight skin on my face, but to me its normal as I live with it. Its draining so its not hurting but it can start up at any time. So its coming out. Dentist checked it twice last month. I have not had it done as it means I can eat with out a blender. But I cut my finger on New Years day 25 days ago and its only just healed as thyriod is over active. So when thyroid is ok it is going to be done. Filling gaps will be a other problem. I might try the Eastman hospital for that or learn to eat with out filling the gaps. Ha ha. I will have hardly any back teeth left. Christine Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Liz Holloway Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Hi Jefa That is the best answer I have read on this topic. It just about covered all my concerns & gave me several hopeful ideas to think about. Thank you! Liz What do you reckon Christine? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
night owl Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Hi Christine Have you parted company with that troublesome tooth? Did everything work out okay for you? Hi Jefa Your post was good and your experience is better than some advice given by dentists. Night Owl Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chockers Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 No still have it. When its removed I will be eating on wisdom teeth so it has been playing up a bit but does not hurt. Dentist has give me some antiboics for my holiday just in case then its removal. My mouth is too tight for root filling he had a little try and it was useless. Chris Quote Link to post Share on other sites
night owl Posted March 5, 2012 Share Posted March 5, 2012 Wisdom teeth are good; it's a few more teeth to be able to chew on. Have a happy holiday. Night Owl Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Liz Holloway Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Hi Chris It seems sharing your tooth experience has been really helpful to a lot of people, including me, so thank you very much! Sorry to hear your visits to the dentist have been grim. I do hope it gets sorted soon. You deserve a holiday so have a great time! Liz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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