Hello,
   A previous poster recommended a website group for answering
denture questions.
http://groups.msn.com/DenturesANewSmile/general.msnw
  I tried this and Microsoft wants me to give my life history and
agree to receiving spam in order for me to post questions.  I already
get about 20 spam e-mails a day!   I can read the postings and it
looks like just what I need, but I want to ask my own questions, too.
   Do any of you use this group, and how did you deal with this
registration fiasco?
   I got upper dentures 15 days ago, and have some regrets.  I could
have tried to save the teeth for the cost of my annual gross income,
but had them pulled.  No problems and very little pain.
  A few questions
1.  Big unforeseen negative:  I have lost 1/2 my sense of taste!  I
didn't know there were taste buds on the roof of my mouth and now that
huge plastic thing is blocking them.  Even the top of my tongue seems
to now lack taste.
2.  The "huge plastic thing"... it feels exactly like I have chewed 3
blocks of Double Bubble gum and have flattened it out all ready to
blow a bubble.  Does one EVER get used to this?
3.  I can only use left side to chew because 2 lower right molars were
also removed... I will be getting a permanent bridge there.  So when I
try to chew food on the left side, the plate loses suction and pops
off and flails around in there with the food.  This is horrendously
unnerving.
4.  When I chew (by somehow balancing the loose plate in the best
position possible), the compression really hurts my upper gums and
bones.  I can't conceive of trying to chew an entire meal, say in
public in a restaurant.  One half piece of bread with melted cheese is
my limit (and that is the hardest food I have attempted, so far).
Does one somehow develop callouses there, or will it always be painful
to attempt to eat?
5.    My dentist said to leave the dentures in 24/7 except to clean.
On that list someone said to take them out 8 hours a day.   What is
really appropriate?  Seems both my mouth and the teeth should have a
break at times.
6.  I have a very pronounced lisp now, no matter how I place all the
involved body parts.  It makes me very self-conscious, and in 2 weeks
I have to teach a bunch of 4th graders for a week.  This is going to
be really difficult!!!  Anyone else have this lisp problem?  
     I surely MUST know people with dentures, but it would be highly
uncouth to ask (though I have no misgivings about stating the obvious
about myself).  I just wish I could get some one-on-one advice from
the experienced.
    2 Good Things:  They look really good... much better than before.
And in 15 days I have lost 12 pounds!   Maybe 12 more to go.  Who even
feels tempted to eat when you can't taste the stuff!
(Dream:  somebody's wedding... a huge smorgasboord of pies, cakes,
cookies, etc., some of each on my plate.  Went to eat and realized I
had the cut out bottom of a styrofoam coffee cup stuck to the roof of
my mouth.  Put finger up there to pull it out and woke up.
Arrrghhh.... it's REALITY  !!!)
Thanks for any advice.
Kira