Removed Pallet from Upper Denture

adhesive - if I did not remove that I gag...so I cannot eat regardless unless I removed it

Hi Deb, are you now saying your upper horse shoe wont stay in so you can eat?? I thought you were able to eat with it in ??

I am so excited i was not wearing the dentures i could not eat or talk and was gagging all the time. I removed the upper pallet and used poliygrip i look great feel great. You must do this. Its supper easy. Going to try enclosing pictures. If not text me your phone number and i will send pictures

I then trimmed it with the dremel tool to make it smooth

More images

Well maybe you didn't need the fixodent to hold in your dentures. I never wear anything to hold in my uppers and I've had them for 40 years. Just need something for bottoms

I finally made it that level also. Took 2 years to get top to stay without adhesive. Finally!

Good for you!!  Hope it keeps working out.

Maybe that's what I need to do...get a Dremel and do a little adjusting for myself!  Thanks for the thought!

If my dentist won’t curve and reduce my upper plate, I have been considering the dremm route as well but I know I will need most of the pallet because my gumline is like a roller coaster.

I have not removed it completely but cut it down far enough to keep me from gagging and to be able to touch the roof of my mouth and taste. I need to work on it a bit because it is too thick.  This is just a temp set so I feel at liberty to work with them....I have actually removed 1/4 of the upper pallet and this seems to have done the job for me. Now I need to work on the 1/8" thickness that it has created. I cannot upload a photo because it says my image is too large but you can message me on my FB page and I can send you one that way. Starla Harmon Ryer

I posted here at the bottom of this page about 5 months ago. I still do not regret cutting out the top denture. As for pictures I think the ones on this page represent the norm. I just used a marker to show about a 1" U leaving a lot of the sides. Used the dremmel disk to lightly etch the line and then cutting down slowly so as not to chip or slip. If you can handle an electric screw driver then there should be no problem. There are other tool ends for finishing the process of smoothing and rounding. I have experience with a dremmel but have never had a learning problem other than trying to do a precise job too fast. I would give it about a half hour. I think about half my tongue in the front contacts the denture. That is really no problem. It is a good thing to cut as little as you need while leaving all the sides and some of the top for extra support. I have temp dentures and have no thoughts of moving on to any others but I did get expensive temps and they are stronger and look good.

I have no regrets at all. You still need to keep up with relining as you go because no amount of glue will keep a loose denture in place for long and your bone structure may not be as even or level as it should be (you chew on one side and the other pops down). Before you attempt this you should be sure to have about as much upper bone as you do lower. If you do not have anything much to grab onto up there then you may need that pallet to help hold. I have fairly good bone all around though a bit uneven on top. After these 5 months I can eat pretty much anything and the dentures are like normal teeth and I can taste things again.

I'm constantly gagging....especially when I talk or when I'm thirsty. And it's so thick there's not enough room for my tongue to move to pronounce words properly, much less food...I sound like I have a lisp or speech Impediment. Guess I'll be digging out the Dremel too.

Call your dentist he/she can trim the palate back a little bit to stop that from happening . If you do it yourself and remove to much you will lose the suction.

Do you think if I removed the palate that a soft liner would still work?

I don't see whyyy it wouldn't..... I didn't get a softliner the dayyy I got myy palate cut because apparantlyyy I alreadyyy got 2 and I am onlyy aloowed one more before I have to payyy for them but......sure ...it should work. I am loving myyy palate cut. It's sooooooo much better for eating and there's no more gagging on too much plastic. I'm not rushing to take them out after work. I LOVE IT!!

that service is not cheap either

I told my dentist about this my dentures give me such a bad headache I can only wear them for 2 hours she is researching this for me can you show pics of your denture, do you still wear the horseshoe one??

They actually make upper dentures without the palate......they are called Horseshoe Dentures

wat if u cant get the tool to try to take the pallett off is their like anything elese i would be able to use that might work?

I wouldn't do that myself.  If you damage your denture, your insurance may not cover to have it fixed.  Fixing or replacing  a denture can be expensive,

I agree...... I would just go back to the dentist and let them do it. Myyy dentist is doing it for me when I am healed enough.....

I use dremels everyday in my job. I used my immediate denture to practice on. Then. My acrylic my dentist made that I despised...i made it into a horseshoe as well and it's fabulous. I polished the edges and used a diamond wheel to make it.

I too DETEST my full palate (NOT spelled pallet, BTW). I've had it for 8 months and it's still horrible. I've lost about 50% of my ability to taste, it feels terribly uncomfortable to have that hunk of plastic stuck in my mouth and I take it out many times a day just to get away from the discomfort and the intrusive feeling I get from it.  When I remove it, it's always covered with thick, gooey spit that has built up on the surface. ICK! I've done a LOT of research on having the center part of the palate removed and everything points me in the direction of getting this done. I've told my prosthodontist I want him to do this procedure and he's very much against it. He says that (1) it will move around in my mouth and (2) food will build up underneath the palate and I'll have to take it out and clean it often throughout the day. But I already remove it a lot just to get some relief from wearing it. I think he's finally ready to give in to my request, though he doesn't really approve. He is an excellent dentist with a specialty in prosthodontics and has a great reputation. I'm confident that when he does remove the center part he will do a very good job and will make every effort to create a good and comfortable fit. He's very proud of his work and has over 40 years experience. He wants to keep the fine reputation he's built up and will do his very best to do so. I admire the people who have taken the DIY route but am too chicken to try it. I just CAN'T WAIT to get this big bulky thing out of my mouth and feel comfortable again! I'll write again after he does the work and give you people a thorough report on the results, both pro and con (if there are any cons). Should be a couple of months before everything's done and I've worn it for awhile).

I took a dremmel to my original teeth...took a ton of bulk off, polished them up with a fingernail polisher - then went to Russel Klien in Etsy and got ultra thin dentures custom made by him for a fraction of the cost I paid to look like a monkey mouth - here I am at my last birthday dinner and no one can tell I have dentures - https://www.etsy.com/market/russell_klein_dentures

They never really did stay in very well.  Eventually I left them out and changed to a soft diet, which is practical for me but not most people.  Then later I got implants and dentures mounted on those.  Those stay in well, but cost a lot, of course.

stephen - the denture that you cut the centre pallet out of - is that an implant mounted denture?

No, it was a regular denture that I cut.

Later I got implant mounted, but never cut the implant mounted.  When I got the implant mounted made I emphasized that I wanted minimum pallet, and they included reinforcing metal in the implant mounted denture, to make sure that it would be strong even though it did not have much pallet.

In your second post you stated that with Fixodent Plus your cut denture worked "perfectly", yet in your post above you state that never did stay in very well.

Having no pallet would make many denture wearers more comfortable but saying that something works when it does not is irresponsible.

People read these posts for months and even years after they originally posted.
You should retract the statement so that other people don't go in and cut out their denture only to find out that it "never really stays in".
Because I know if I had done that I could not afford to go and get an implant like you did Nor would my health allow me to do so.

Did your dentist do the horseshoe or did you do it? I have so much trouble with the pallet that I can't stand to wear my teeth. I want to do this but afraid it won't stay tight without the suction.

Any updates??

I am leaving for the dentist NOW!!! PLEASE sayyy a prayer that she cuts this for me TODAY!! It's been exactlyyy 9 weeks!! I want it cut!! I need it cut!! I will be on later!!!

She did it!!!! She gave me a horseshoe palate and I LOVE IT!!! It's just sooooooo much less in myy mouth!! It's GREAT to feel the roof again!! It feels different. I need to get used to a different feeling all over again but it's better!! They, of course, don't have the suction and so the tightness is gone......they feel like they may fall out but they aren't. They are in with adhesive which yessss - I must use all the time now. They will not stay in up top at all now without it but it is soooooo worth it!! I think I will be good with this......I reallyyy do.....gotta try eating but I can tell you that even drinking water is BETTER now!!!!!