Hi Grizabella,

In my experience as a dental assistant, it is not uncommon for the patient to misunderstand what they have been told and/or for the dentist to not give clear post operative instructions. I think in the conversation between your daughter and the dentist there was a miscommunication. We give the following instructions to our patients with similar dental issues..

1) Wear the partial denture as much as possible. It should not be worn to sleep at night. It should be cleaned/brushed thoroughly and put away until the morning.

2) If the partial is uncomfortable when you eat, take them out. Especially during the healing phase from the extractions. As the surgical site heals, the partial can be adjusted to fit the changes that occur in the bone and gum tissue.

3)It is imperative to remove the partial denture and rinse with warm salt water beginning 24 hours after the extractions. This rinsing should be done 4 times a day for several weeks. It keeps the surgical areas clean and the salt aids with the healing.

People are under the misconception that a partial denture should feel like their own teeth. Unfortunately, that is just not possible. It is difficult to explain that to a person because we don't want to put any negative thoughts in their head that shouldn't be there. It may take several appointments of adjusting it to get it comfortable. However, there is always a time period of "getting use to" this appliance in your mouth. Some people adapt more easily than others but there is no way to tell if your daughter will be one of those people.

Also, once the surgical sites have healed completely, about 6 months to a year down the road, she may need to have a new partial denture made if this one cannot be adjusted any further. The whole idea with giving her a partial denture at the time of her extractions is to give her teeth to smile and eat with. But due to the surgery and the final changes in the bone level, there is no way to tell how long this partial will fit her.

She should be seeing her dentist for post op appointment a week after her extractions. That would be a good time for her to ask questions and tell him her concerns then.

I hope this information was helpful..... hope she heals super well!

Bryanna