Should My Dentist Refund Me For These Dentures?
I was being transferred but needed to replace the dentures that were attached to my mini implants. I went to a dentist and asked him how long it would take to get the dentures made. I had to move in eleven weeks. He told me it would take just three weeks to get the dentures done. They didn’t actually get in until nine weeks later. Even then, they didn’t fit. My dentist literally had to force them on. If that would have been it, I would have just lived with it. Unfortunately, the way the dentures were fitting I was in tremendous pain. I couldn’t even eat pasta that night. I ended up forcing them back off because I was close to tears. The next day, I went back to their office. The dentist I saw wasn’t in, but one of the other dentists was. He said they were defective. The dentures were improperly aligned and the gaskets were not the right fit. He could order some more for me. I really don’t have time to wait for new ones and hope they fit. I have to leave in two weeks. Do you think I am okay asking for a refund as I can’t get the denture that I need?
Penny
Dear Penny,
Yes, you are definitely entitled to a refund for these dentures. He promised it to you in three weeks and missed the deadline. He didn’t just miss the deadline a little, he missed it by a LOT. Then, when it did arrive it was defective. He did not keep his end of the bargain. As a result, you should be refunded.
I would start by asking nicely for the refund. If he complains or denies you the refund, you have some leverage. What he delivered was far below the standard of care. You could threaten to write a bad review letting the public know about the horrific care you received. That will have a negative impact on his ability to get new business. A more serious thing you could threaten is to go to the dental board. I do not think he will want to deal with the dental board. If you used any dental insurance to pay for these dentures, you can also contact them and let them know what was going on. I don’t think it is going to come to that.
When you get to your new destination and you get another dentist to do this, be certain you check out that they have some post-doctoral training in dental implants. You are attaching your dentures to a type of dental implant with the mini implants, which is more advanced than a simple denture procedure. Dental implants are fairly unregulated and there is not a recognized specialty in placing them, so you’ll have to do some homework.
This blog is brought to you by Moline Dentist Dr. Thomas Goebel.
How Far Back Should Dentures Go?
I had to get lower dentures. They don’t cover my wisdom tooth area, which means I am pretty much just chewing on my gums. My dentist said this is normal, but it is very uncomfortable. Is there anything to do about it?
Stan
Dear Stan,
This is not normal and something your dentist could have prevented. The dentures should not only cover the wisdom tooth area, but go a little past it to what is called the retromolar pad. You don’t want the entire pad covered because that will interfere with any upper dentures you may have. That is the only limitation, however.
The solution, unfortunately, is to completely redo the denture. If you have already paid for it, then your dentist won’t have much incentive to replace it, unless he has a high sense of ethics. You could try showing your dentist this blog post and see if this helps. Before you do that, though, I want to make certain you understand the risks of completely removable dentures, especially lower dentures.
The Down Side of Dentures
When your teeth are removed, your body recognizes that there are no longer any roots of your teeth in your jawbone that need to be supported. In an effort to be efficient with your body’s resources, it immediately begins to resorb the minerals in your jawbone in order to use them elsewhere. While a great way to handle your body’s resources, it has the unfortunate side effect of shrinking your jawbone. After ten or so years, you will no longer have enough of your lower jawbone to retain your dentures. In dental circles, this is known as facial collapse.
The solution to this is to have dental implants placed and secure your dentures to them. Some people call this implant overdentures. The dental implants serve as prosthetic teeth roots. Because you have “roots,” your body will preserve the minerals there in order to support the teeth.
This blog is brought to you by Moline Dentist Dr. Thomas Goebel.
Can These Dentures Be Salvaged?
I have complete dentures made and I am happy with how they look and feel. I seem to have an allergy to them though. When I started wearing them, the allergy symptoms began pretty much right away. The first day I had swollen glands and swelling/irritation of the eyes. By the second day, I felt sick. On the third day my throat stated swelling and I had a bit of difficulty breathing. I took some benadryl and that helped a little. I waited a bit and then tried again with the same results only it got worse more quickly than before. I really like these dentures so wasn’t quite ready to give up on them. Unfortunately, when I tried the third time, the symptoms came on even more quickly and it scared me. Is there any way to salvage these dentures? I was quite pleased wtih them and worry the next set won’t be as great.
Penny
Dear Penny,
You definitely have an allergy to these dentures. I’m glad the Benadryl worked for you. These type of allergies should not be messed around with. They can turn life-threatening quite quickly. I would stop wearing the dentures completely until you find out what the offending material is. You can find this out by seeing an allergist. There is still a chance these can be salvaged. My guess is that you are allergic to the unreacted monomer in the dentures. If your denture is made of acrylic, like most are, the acrylic starts in liquid form. The dentist will cause a chemical reaction, which turns the monomer into a polymer as it hardens.
In this chemical reaction, there is some leftover monomer. If this is what you are allergic to than there is a procedure that can help to turn the leftower monomer into a polymer. If your dentist is unfamiliar with that, than you can show him or her this documentation which will help them. Basically, what this boils down to is submerging the denture extremely hot water for several hours.
If that doesn’t work, you may have to have the denture remade, but this time with a different material. Acrylic is not the only thing you can make a denture with. Your first step is seeing that allergist though.
This blog is brought to you by Moline Dentist Dr. Thomas Goebel.