(apologies if wrong forum, couldn't decide if this fell under Long Term or Eating)

I did search, and can't find anything particularly recent that wasn't something I already commented on, so...

Got my new dentures yesterday! That's the good news. (Yes, finally!) I've never seen that staff so excited about anything ... I guess it's their vocational equivalent to welcoming a new baby into the world, and they've seen me through a heck of a lot over the years. I'd been feeling fairly brushed-off at my last couple visits, so their enthusiasm, and the detailed information they were giving me, and the fact that they want me in every single week for the next several weeks to ensure a good fit are REALLY encouraging. (This is NOT the same office that botched my surgeries. Thank the Lord.)

Of course, this is a holiday week, and I see them Monday but can't put in any calls for help sooner because they are taking the rest of the week off. And of course, in everyone's excitement yesterday, I overestimated how well they felt and didn't get them to trim enough off. (Going on the theory that it's easier to remove, and impossible to put back. Sigh. And at that point, it didn't seem to hurt, but... I should have known.)

Anyway, now I need some in-the-trenches stories for comparison and reassurance. The dentist had been preparing me for using Fixodent or the like because of lack of saliva (missing one gland) and all that, and given I grew up watching commercials for the stuff, I assumed it was normal. But the assistant I worked with yesterday seemed to be encouraging me not to use it unless I had to. So we only used it on the top, because it just wouldn't stay. Now I see WHY they had two different answers ... golly, when I took that thing out, it was like I'd tried to eat a glue stick! Not much stuck to the plate, but I had to get a washcloth to scrub my mouth! And scrub, and scrub ... and we'd only used a tiny bit! Is this normal? (Thankfully we'd stopped by a store on the way home to get some of that, and they'd also talked to me more about how to care for both the dentures and my mouth, so I'd bought some baby washcloths .... worth their weight in gold!)

And ... the lower one is really cutting into the bottom of my gum/lower lip line. They told me not to overdo it, just to try a certain amount of time each day and work up to it. I see why now. I'm wondering, though (with trepidation), if using the Fixodent stuff might hold it in place so it rubs less? I don't want to do Orajel or anything that numbs me to damage because that would be counter-productive ... this is not the time to push through. But I do want to be able to wear them for more than a half hour at a time between now and Monday, and not be terrified of them.

Also, not allowed to eat with them yet. Was advised not to even drink much with them, till I get better at it (which I can't afford to do because, dry mouth!) ... but I can see why they gave the advice! I cannot wait to get back to my speech and swallow therapist!

So ... who else is in the denture club, and does it sound like I'm getting reasonable advice and having the usual sort of beginner experience? Allowing for the fact that we all have uniquely wonky mouths here?

Oh, and whatever else, they at least look really good! My speech is lisping, but well, that'll improve ... as you can tell from the length of my posts, nothing stops me talking folks' ear off for very long ...

Kristen