Re: Replacement dentures

From: Margaret (pturandot2004_at_yahoo.com)
Date: 12/16/04 

Date: 16 Dec 2004 15:34:22 -0800

Thanks for the feedback.

The fee's confuse me.
> Did you pay $2500 + 500 = $3000
> or $3000 + 500 = $3500?

As to the fees: I paid $242- half up front and half today. On the final
bill was an additional charge for $550.00, so the total is $2970.00. I
was rounding figures before.

Based solely on your story, your dentist is being unreasonable. But
there are
> two sides to every story...

Yes there are two sides to every story, and honestly the whole
situation is confusing to me so I understand your questioning of the
situation. My confusion is why I wanted advice. I am not an
unreasonable person- very easy to get along with and never had a
problem with dentists or the two previous sets of dentures before ( in
a different town now so can't go back to the old dentist)so I don't
understand what is going on, and am not sure how to handle this. I want
to trust my dentist and am tempted just to take the teeth "as is" and
try to accept that they are the best they can be (because that would be
easier than being assertive) but it is hard to spend $3000 on something
that is no better than my old set.

A fee for an unplanned lab visit is reasonable, but not $500.
> An extra fee for extra appointments is unreasonable if you mentioned
your wishes
> and they were acknowledged in the beginning.

As to the additional fee, the dentist said $272.00 of the $550 was an
additional fee charged by the lab (no one told me before today that
cost extra money either), $68 was for greyhound charges (the lab is 2
hours away and at first we were trying to hurry the process up so were
shipping by bus) and the rest he says is for additional visits he did
not include in his initial assessment. He never said the process only
included a certain number of visits. The reasons we had additional
visits was one time I had told him I wanted them not to be completely
cosmetic looking, so they set them up unevenly in wax, and I did not
like that ( I meant I wanted some smaller, some turned a little- not
longer and shorter). Another time the wax got too thin from him working
on it ( and it was 5 pm) so he asked me to return the next week.

It does not appear the teeth are in the same position as when in the
wax. At the lab, after they adjusted things, the teeth were behind my
lip and supported both the top and bottom teeth so they "filled out"
some on the wrinkles. The dental tech also moved the teeth "out" so
they filled out my cheeks more. I know the teeth moved because when I
tried on the "final" product at the lab, my mouth felt full and I was
feeling like drooling, and we discussed that it would take me time to
get used to the feeling and would need to practice speaking (which I
fully expected and thought to be part of a normal readjustment).

The whole reason I went to the lab (and for getting the new dentures in
the first place), was that my teeth appeared to be receding or getting
farther back from my lips- like my face was sinking in. In fact, I have
been having my lips injected with collagen in the last year- not for
bigger lips, but just to maintain some kind of lip border. WIthout the
collagen I would have no lips at all right now with the new or old
dentures, and I used to have full lips. At the wax tryin at the
dentist, the teeth were still too far back, and I was still
overclosing, and my dentists said he could not move the teeth farther
"out" or towards my teeth without my looking like I had a nightguard in
my mouth. He then sent me to the lab because he said it would be easier
for me to communicate with them directly and easier for them if they
could see me up close.

When I went to the lab, the tech and owner reworked the teeth three
times. The widened the arch, and moved the teeth closed to my lips.
They also decided to move the back teeth closer to my cheeks to give me
more cheeks support/fill out my face. They looked so good when I left
that I cried because I looked much better and even younger. They also
retested the vertical and increased that slightly.

So when I got the new ones today I was shocked that they did not appear
to be set like the "changed" ones or "final" wax tryins they had done
at the lab. THey appeared to be more like the was tryins before I went
to the lab. The suction or fit is fine inside (like I said I have big
ridges) so the only problem except for minor corrections is that they
still do not give my lips any support. The fit in terms of staying in
my mouth is much better- the wax ones were loose and we had to glue
them in.

I guess I want to know if I am being unreasonable. I know you all see
patients that drive you crazy and I do not want to be one of them.
However, I also do not want to be so passive that I give up and end up
spending $3000 on something I will never wear. It is hard to stand up
for myself, but this is a lot of money, and a lot of time and hope
invested. If what I want is unreasonable then I will accept that. Maybe
people's lips just sink in more and more. But, if this is not true, and
maybe the dentist is just not that experienced with dentures, then I
would appreciate knowing that too. I don't want to sue him or anything,
I just want to look halfway decent for the money I've spent.

Sorry to go on for so long but I am trying to better explain my
situation. Thanks again .

Roy Brown wrote:
> The fee's confuse me.
> Did you pay $2500 + 500 = $3000
> or $3000 + 500 = $3500?
>
>
>
> Acrylic can be added, should be done so at no charge considering you
had been to
> the lab previously. You made no mention of whether or not the teeth
were in the
> same position. Were they or was all the difference in the denture
base alone?
> Considering the lab was directly involved they should be taking some
of the
> responsibility. If you were in my office at this point, I would
consider using a
> functional impression material to refit the denture and bulk out the
denture at
> the same time. Then I would rebase the denture.
>
> The fit is usually better on the finished product, rather than the
try in,
> depending on the technique. Minor discrepancies can occur during
curing of the
> denture and minor changes happen during the first 2 weeks or so due
to water
> sorption.
>
> Write down your concerns, divorce yourself from your emotions and
talk to your
> dentist to see if something can be resolved.
>
> Short answer is if you can't resolve this with your dentist, or they
can't
> resolve it the lab then either you need to find a new dentist or they
need to
> find a new lab.
>
> Based solely on your story, your dentist is being unreasonable. But
there are
> two sides to every story...
>
> Keep us posted on the sequence of events.
> --
> Roy
> rem NADA to reply
>
>
>
> "Margaret" <pturandot2004@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:1103229434.564113.166330@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> | Hi everyone,
> |
> | I have been lurking but this is my first post. I just not
replacement
> | dentures and I am unhappy. I need to know if my expectations are
> | unreasonable or if I need to ask my dentist to adjust them. I would
> | really appreciate any help because I just spent $3000 for a set of
> | dentures that are no improvement over the last pair (except they
are
> | whiter).
> |
> | I have had dentures for 6 years and this is my second replacement.
I
> | had developed lines at the corners of my mouth and vertical lines
all
> | around my mouth, plus I was overclosing and could not chew on my
back
> | teeth. I went to a general dentist, and at the tryin I told him I
> | wanted more lip support so he sent me to the dental techinician who
> | worked on the dentures, moved the teeth forward, widened the arch,
and
> | increased the vertical height, so I was very happy. Today i got the
> | final set and they do not look or fit like the day in the dental
lab.
> | Do they shrink a lot during the final processing? I told the
dentist I
> | wanted more lip support and he said it was not possible.
> |
> | So I guess I am wondering if this is true and I am being
unrealistic?
> | Is my mouth just going to sink farther in as I age (until I can
afford
> | implants)? Or, do I need to ask them to add some acrylic on the
outside
> | of the based to try to get more lip support? This is all very
> | disheartening and I don't want to bother the dentist/be a pain so I
> | don't know quite what to do.
> |
> | Also, today he charged my an additional $500 for the lab visit and
> | because I had 2 more visits than usual. He had not warned me about
this
> | charge until I came to the final visit. I didn't think this was
fair
> | but don't really know what is right either.
> |
> | Again, I really appreciate any advice/suggestions you could give
me. I
> | could just cry at this point.
> |
> | Thanks
> |

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