Dentures and Buyer's Remorse
March 23, 2014 9:07 PM Subscribe
I've just purchased a set of immediate dentures that look ridiculous and don't fit. I signed my approval for the preliminary wax version- I thought the teeth looked a little small, but my denturist assured me they'd look fine. (It was difficult to tell, holding them up next to my mouth in the mirror.)
Friday I had my final real teeth removed, and tried on the denture at the end of the visit. It didn't come close to fitting. My dentist confirmed my suspicions about the size of the denture teeth, and said most denturists actually put the wax version in the patient's mouth to make sure the bite is properly aligned, as well as to make sure they look good. Not mine...
Having signed off on the wax version, do I have any legal recourse here? If so, would they have to fix the cosmetic problems (size of teeth) as well as the fit?
You should have a warranty for the dentures and the denturist should honor his contract to provide them, or don't pay until the teeth fit correctly.
posted by parmanparman at 12:28 PM on March 24, 2014
posted by parmanparman at 12:28 PM on March 24, 2014
I am not a dentist, so I'm not sure on the legal end, but I am a person who makes dentures. This problem was completely avoidable despite the fact that the dentures were immediates, so that's not a good excuse from your dentist or the lab. If you had a lot of front teeth left, the teeth used in the denture should have been of a similar size and shape as your originals. (Denture teeth come in an incredible variety--it's highly unlikely that your teeth were so large that similar plastic teeth couldn't be found.) If you didn't have any or many front teeth left, a partial waxup should have been made so you could try in the front teeth and approve the size, shape, and color. This is fixable, but since you did approve the wax version I don't know that you could legally get the dentist to eat the cost for it.
The fit, assuming you mean the way they sit on your tissue and not the way the teeth themselves come together, is very fixable. Your dentist can do a chairside soft reline, which means the hard plastic that sits on your gums is replaced with a softer material that's much more forgiving. I'm very surprised that he didn't already do this, if they fit poorly from the start. If they're unusable because of the fit, whether from pain or because they don't stay in, I would insist he take care of this on his dime. He hasn't held up his end of the deal if you can't wear them, and it's a fairly simple fix.
posted by Tek at 10:37 AM on March 25, 2014
The fit, assuming you mean the way they sit on your tissue and not the way the teeth themselves come together, is very fixable. Your dentist can do a chairside soft reline, which means the hard plastic that sits on your gums is replaced with a softer material that's much more forgiving. I'm very surprised that he didn't already do this, if they fit poorly from the start. If they're unusable because of the fit, whether from pain or because they don't stay in, I would insist he take care of this on his dime. He hasn't held up his end of the deal if you can't wear them, and it's a fairly simple fix.
posted by Tek at 10:37 AM on March 25, 2014
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posted by Madamina at 6:12 AM on March 24, 2014