It's been almost three years since I last posted. There really hasn't been much of anything worth posting about that I haven't put on my Facebook or anything I really wanted to share with strangers until now.
I've worn an upper denture plate since I was 29. In the past year it started to crack. It wasn't so bad at first and I was able to deal with it. However I love eating carrots...raw carrots. I also like to chew ice. The hard biting and chewing caused the crack to worsen and eventually it cracked through. This is my current denture, the white stuff is where I've glued it back together so I can go to work with teeth in my mouth. I can't eat with it though.
I am poor. I work part time in retail which is not the highest money making profession by a long shot. I am also going to college online but still have a few years until I have my Bachelor's degree and can try for a better job. Because of this, I searched for a low-cost way to fix or replace my denture. I called a few dentists but because of the age of the denture, 15 years, they would not repair. Replacement dentures were quoted between 2,000 - 5,000 dollars. I did some research and found Dentures Online. I looked at reviews, checked out their Better Business Bureau page and did not see anything negative about them, and they were charging only $495 for a full upper denture plate. I used some money from my student loans and placed the order in early September. I got step 1, the imprint kit, right away and sent it back. They received it on September 23, 2013.
For anybody who does not know how mail order dentures work, this is from their website. I had the calendar/clock open to use as a date stamp.
They also published this as the expected time frame (this is important here)
So I figure I'll have new teeth by early November. Oh buy was I wrong. I expected to receive step 2, the wax fit in a couple weeks. When it didn't show up, I emailed and asked for an update. It took them 4 days to answer to say "it's at the lab in process" and they'd send a tracking number when it was done. A week later I heard nothing so I emailed again. Once again I got a "it's in the lab, should be done next week" answer. Week later, still nothing. I went into their live chat to get immediate answers and was told that they were backed up and my order was awaiting process. This was 2 MONTHS after they got back the imprints. When I mentioned getting a refund because they were beyond their promised time frame (5-7 weeks from imprints to final denture). they started circling around and making other promises. I was told that the denture couldn't be done until Monday (I chatted on Wednesday) because the technician was off for the rest of the week. What business of worth has one technician and lets him take time off when they're so backlogged it's taking two months between step 1 and step 2? I finally got an email from them on November 6 saying that step 2, the wax fit had shipped. Here's what I got:
The DVD is an instruction DVD so I would know what to do next. Check out the label on the DVD (keep in mind, this is STEP 2)
Yeah, they sent the instruction DVD for the first step, taking the initial impressions. They sent the impression putty (the colored stuff in the little cups), but no trays to use it in. I tried the wax fit in my mouth and the fit is terrible. It's way too big, the edges are so rough that it hurts to put in. The shape is not what was in the impression I sent them. Unfortunately I didn't get pictures of the initial impression because I did not think that I could be sitting here two months later trying to get my teeth. Here are some comparison pictures, my current denture that I took the mold of on the left, what they sent on the right.
In my mouth, this is the right side. My real denture on the left, the wax fit on the right.
The center. My real one has super glue on it because the crack is between the two front teeth.
In my mouth, this is the left side
The original teeth have been ground down over years of use, and from sanding when I tried fixing with Repair-It so I don't have an issue with the teeth themselves, but the gum mold is just terrible. I'm waiting to hear back from Dentures Online about sending the wrong Instruction DVD and find out what do I do next. I hope I don't end up waiting another 2 months for the next wax fit. I would love to be able to eat Thanksgiving dinner with my family but I don't think that will happen.
Here's a few pictures of what the wax fit looks like in my mouth as they did request pictures of the denture in but I'm not sending them in until I find out how to fit the wax and how to adjust it so it fits properly and they make me the right size final denture.
Look how crooked they sit! They're so far forward that I feel like a horse with them in.
I definitely do NOT recommend using Dentures Online.
11/12/13 Update: Got a representative in another live chat and I have instructions on what to do with the putty. They would not answer my question whether this will end up taking another 6 weeks to get the next fitting. I think I'll make sure to put "RUSH, PROCESS IMMEDIATELY" on the box.
