Hi BrokencountryGal,

First of all, if the extractions and denture were done several years ago and you have not been wearing the dentures......... chances are you have lost alot of bone leaving your upper and lower ridges flat. When this occurs, it can be just about impossible to get dentures to fit without some form of dental implant retention. Secondly, the ridges may be too flat to place dental implants. This would need to be thoroughly examined both clinically and radiographically.

Some people have a severe gag reflex and anything that even slightly touches certain parts of their mouth causes them to gag. You may be one of those people which would make wearing dentures very difficult.

The upper denture relies on suction from the palate (roof of the mouth) to stay in properly. If the denture gets cut back so it is shorter on the palate, it may not stay in at all. Your gag reflex may also be triggered by different areas of the mouth not just the back of the palate, so cutting back the denture may not be a good solution.

Both upper and lower dentures require some form of a bony ridge to help hold them into place. Without that bony ridge, the dentures will just slide all over the place.

Your best bet is to consult with a Prosthodonist. This is a dentist who specializes in the replacement of teeth and is very familiar with fabricating dentures. They see cases exactly like yours all of the time. I would personally steer clear of a dental school as the last thing you need is for inexperienced students to be experimenting on you. Your case requires expertise without a doubt.

Please keep us posted on how you are doing. Please try not to lose hope... find out what your options are and perhaps you will be surprised!!

Bryanna ~'.'~