My friendly neighbour gave me an emergency phone call one morning. Her mum just fell down in front of her house compound after sending her kids to the car.
She rushed to our clinic and fortunately I was free to attend her 83 years old mother. Aunty Gan had a deep cut at her lower lip and some minor bruises inside the mouth.
Fortunately, I was free to attend to her needs immediately. The cut was gently cleaned and sutured.
After 2 weeks, the lips has completely healed. She then decided to make another set of full dentures as the upper denture is very loose.
She had been wanting to make new dentures for so long but then she kept postponing. Since this accident happened, she had no choice but to do a new one. She need dentures for chewing! Such a blessing in disguise!
When she came in, she kept covering her mouth whilst talking because she felt shy to talk without her upper denture. Aunty Gan was so bubbly. She just loved to chat and tell me many stories about her life.
It took me about 5 visits to complete her dentures. Full-full dentures generally involve 4 steps. Since her case was a bit challenging, I took time to carefully did the critical steps for her.
I think the extra time spent for her was really worth it! Why? Because the new dentures seems nicely fit and she was so comfortable talking with it.
I advised her to try chewing and let me know if she has trouble wearing it. After a week, she did not rang us for any issue. When I asked Anne, her daughter, she said her mum has no issue wearing. She is still adjusting with the new bite. However, no major issue like pain.
It is quite rare for a person to completely have no issue at all after using a new denture. I always give a metaphor to my patient.
Wearing dentures is like wearing a new pair of shoes. Sometimes you will have the shoes ‘bite’ at your tissues causing soreness. After a while, the tissue will be keratinized (thickened) and adapt to the new environment.
About 6 weeks later, I bumped into Anne around our neighbourhood and we had a chit chat. She told me that her mum needs to see me for some adjustment of the denture. I am more than happy to help.
To all our patients, the roads to getting a comfortable and ‘perfect’ smile may not be always easy and smooth. However, please do note that we are always here to give you a helping hand. The best part is, the adjustment (if it is done by us) is usually free of charge. It is part of our way of giving back to our senior community.
I hope this real life story will give hope to those who are looking to get their dentures made or repaired. We are only a phone call away!
Love,
Dr Mawarni