A new set of dentures will soon put an end to months of appointments, missing teeth and the frustration of food limitations for Ted Amos.
In about six weeks the 83-year-old will receive his upper and lower acrylic dentures created by the Mackay Base Hospital Dental Clinic.
Ted said he is looking forward to having his smile restored and knows what he would like to enjoy with his new teeth.
“I’ll be going to Harrup Park with my sweetheart of 67 years, Ada, and I’ll be ordering the ribs,” Ted said.
“If you haven’t had the ribs, you need to. They’re the best.”
Dental prosthetist Steven Everett said a series of dental issues had impacted Ted’s ability to eat and process food for almost 12 months.
“Ted came to us with severely compromised teeth that could only be resolved with dentures,” Steven said.
“We weren’t able to restore all his teeth which meant he needed quite a few extractions before the denture fitting process could begin, once the gums had healed.”
The denture process involves several appointments to measure and fit the denture.
All dentures created at the dental clinic are made to fit each individual patient’s mouth and no two are the same.
Ted’s case has proven to be a unique challenge for the dental team due to a childhood incident as a five-year-old.
“My older brother gave me teaspoon of caustic soda and all the inside of my mouth was burnt,” Ted said.
“I was lucky I didn’t swallow any because it would have killed me but it took me four years to learn to talk again and recover from the incident.
“Unfortunately, I was never able to fully open my mouth again.”
Impressions taken of Ted’s mouth will now be used to construct the denture.
Keep watching the Mackay HHS Facebook page as we follow Ted on his journey to renewed oral health.
