Denture Adventures....

Well, anyone who's had a full set made and been forced to wear them or eat baby food for the rest of their lives knows what I'm talking about here. For the rest of you, read carefully - it could be you next so take care of your choppers!

I had the soft lining put in on Friday, yesterday. I am glad in one way, and unhappy in another. The pain is much less, so that is the good part. The bad part is the chemical contamination.

I've worked really hard to eliminate all chemical contaminants from my life. My body can't handle it. So now I have these pieces of plastic in my mouth that exude acrylate and other toxins while the soft lining cures. It's been 24 hours, and while much better, I still can't figure out what anything tastes like. Kind of a waste, when I still have to sip my food.

I am able to gently chew, but I have no control of the dentures, and as a result, I have no control over the food in my mouth. I almost choked yesterday afternoon. I learned very quickly to take extremely small nibbles.

I've been using the powder adhesive, but, let's face it, it barely works. So the lower denture moves about pretty freely. That contributes to lack of chewing prowess.

Another issue is the weight that the soft lining added to the denture. Not like poundage, but like thickness. One side of the lower became very ragged during the procedure, and tore at my tongue all night. I about tossed the thing in the garbage. Instead, I grabbed my Dremel this morning and smoothed it out. It's still thick, but it's not cutting me anymore.

I will say one thing, though. I don't sound like I'm talking around marbles anymore. I guess that's a good thing.

I go back in June for the hard lining, and I guess September for my Custom, permanent, denture. This is just the mouth training time, and it's pretty tough for an old bird like myself. I don't much like changes - especially changes in how my body works!

The upper has the teeth attached to it in a funny way - skewed to one side, so my jaw is probably not going to be able to adjust properly for the entire training period. At least I hope not. And if the custom denture has the same problem, I'll refuse it and have them make it again. And, it seems I'll be on a liquid diet for several months.

As for losing weight? Well, when you can't eat salads, it's tough. I have some green drinks I found for nutrition, but the sugars in juices contribute a lot to weight gain. Even broccoli has sugars in it. Pasta is soft enough to swallow whole, but not really good for me - white flour and sugar are my downfalls.

Oh well, it's a challenge, is all.