One of the scariest aspects of having all of your upper teeth removed is knowing that you will be living the rest of your life with dentures. What happens if you can't get used to having a foreign object in your mouth? Will the denture look natural? It's downright scary not knowing how your life will be after the oral surgery. Well, fortunately, for most people, it is not much different than the life you are living now – possibly even better since you won't be dealing with the dental pain those bad teeth are causing you.

So, what can you do to make the transition easier and what should you expect during the first year after the extractions?

Pay for a Temporary Denture

A temporary denture has a long list of benefits to support the cost, including:

• Speedier recovery after surgery
• Decreased bleeding, less swelling and expedited ability to eat after surgery
• Improved appearance after surgery – you will leave the surgeon's office with the denture in place
• Easier transition into the denture

The temporary denture is fitted directly over the stitches in your gums which is why the bleeding and swelling is deceased after surgery. Having those open wounds protected will allow you to eat more solid foods much sooner after the surgery. Instead of having to live for several weeks without any teeth, the temporary denture will provide you the teeth you need to be comfortable with yourself outside of the home.

Now, as far as transition is concerned, having the temporary denture put into place immediately after the surgery is complete helps because you don't get used to the feel of not having any teeth. Instead, your mouth begins to train itself to work with the denture in place, rather than training itself to work without any teeth at all. This will make the transition into the permanent denture much easier when the time comes.

The First Days, Weeks and Months

The first days may be a little uncomfortable simply because the wounds in your mouth are still healing. Rest assured, this discomfort will not last much longer than a week as long as you follow your dentist's instruction for care.

Now, after your mouth begins to feel better, you will want to try the foods that you have been missing. Seriously -- start slowly! Start out with pasta and other soft foods and gradually work your way to more solid foods that require some chewing.

So, you got through the hard part, now is the time that you begin having your permanent denture made. This can take several weeks to complete from start to finish, but when it is done, you will put that new denture in place and instantly love the way that it feels in your mouth. By this time, the temporary denture will fit quite loosely because your mouth has healed. The new denture will fit precisely and will not flop around or rub on your gums.

Don't let the idea of wearing dentures stop you from having the unhealthy teeth removed from your mouth. Seriously, your mouth will get used to having the dentures in much more quickly than you think. For more information, talk to someone like Tony Parsley, DMD.