All on Four Lower - Full Upper Denture

This procedure was a bit proactive as I still had 20 relatively healthy teeth. However, I needed at least six implants along with a few bridges and crowns for aesthetic reasons and my dentist said that I was likely to encounter more issues down the road. I was initially going to have the all on four done on both upper and lower but she suggested I try a removable denture on the upper since many folks are able to function well with one,

I had 20 teeth pulled along with the four lower implants and a bone graft in back of my former two upper front teeth. The graft had been planned to better accommodate a possible future switch to an all on four upper. The lower diem was installed as was the upper denture. I had IV sedation and the surgery and adjustments too about five hours. I was never in any pain and don't remember any of the surgery.

I relaxed at home afterwards and was doing fine but got a bit cocky and ate some pasta. That was about the time the shots were wearing off and even though the ibuprofen had been all I needed to that point, I decided to take one of the opioid-based pain meds before bed.

Per instructions, I slept with my upper denture in the first two nights to help reduce swelling. I felt pretty good the day after surgery although swelling worsened as the day progressed. I was out and about driving - stopped by my business for a half-hour - had a quick appointment with the surgeon to check for sore spots - and then just laid around reading and watching television. Very manageable pain I would describe as discomfort rather than pain.

It's now day two post surgery and my cheeks have puffed out more but the pain is about the same - a bit of a raw gum feeling and it is a bit uncomfortable when replacing the upper - I took it out and gave them their first Polident bath while I showered this morning. Up to this point, the Ibuprofin has worked well enough with the exception of the one other pain pill I took the first night.

The teeth look great - I'm glad I didn't listen to the dentist in trying to talk me into a less white shade. If you're going through this my opinion is - white-white!

Getting used to eating will be a learning process as expected. Speaking is not quite normal but I suspect it will get easier as I get used to my new teeth and as the swelling goes down and adjustments are made as needed.

I'm not sure where my pain tolerance rates next to anyone else's but I will say this has been a much less horrendous experience then I expected. I had a lot of work done at once and I would be surprised if the worst weren't already behind me.

I had a great surgeon and his team was outstanding as well - including the prosthodontist who started this journey in the first place

I'm now six days out from my surgery and in my last review I was surprised that I wasn't in more pain and thrilled about the whole process. My update is that I think I was a bit optimistic regarding my recovery time - I thought it was all downhill from where I was at while in reality - as my swelling has gone down my upper full denture is driving me crazy (I had the all on four on the bottom only).

To back up a bit - my prosto did my impression about nine months before I finally went ahead with the procedure. I backed out last Fall for a personal reason so my mouth has likely changed since. As a result, this preliminary full denture - i'll be getting another one in about four months - has many spots that just don't seem to fit. I'm sure most folks go through this after surgery but I"ll say one thing - I have no idea how someone could use a full bottom denture - you must have to superglue it in place. My upper denture - as of today - is very uncomfortable to wear for more that a few hours at a time. I'm going in for an adjustment in six days so my mouth may heal a bit before then - right now - it stinks and I'm questioning being so proactive with pulling 20 teeth.

I'll update this review as things change.

It's now been 12 days since my surgery. As the swelling of my gums continues to go down the upper denture continues to be uncomfortable to wear. I wear it at work and while I'm out and about but I take it off as soon as I get home and once in awhile if I know I'll be in my office alone at work for more than a half-hour.

I'm not giving up on sticking with the upper full denture but I will say the bottom all-on-four has really been a non-issue as far as discomfort - I really haven't had any. I have no idea of how a regular bottom denture stays in but I do know the plate on the upper denture that covers the roof of you mouth is going to take a long time to get used to - right now - I hate it.

I went back in for an adjustment to the upper yesterday - I had a few sore spots and the dentist trimmed a piece here and there and bent something else. It feels better but I still dread putting it in after showering in the morning.

If I had to make one statement right this minute it would be that in retrospect I may have explored other options for my mouth. I definitely needed four upper implants but my front teeth were nice and straight - just not as white as I'd like. Right now, the sinus lift I would have had to have doesn't sound anywhere near as bad as it did that got me going on this road. There is no substitute for your real teeth so get all you can get out of them before going the denture route because you simply can't go back.