[SpanksTheMonkey]

Hi all well the heading pretty much explains it I had dental surgery a few years ago and as a result I ended up with a bit of a lisp.

Its getting a bit better as time goes by I think I'm learning how to correct it a tiny bit but I don't think it will ever go away completely.

And as a result I'm a bit conscious about it how do others see people with lisps?

Is it a big deal should I be self conscious about it or just forget it?

[SeraBella]

I notice them when they are really bad...like the ones that should have been corrected as a child.

I can only think of one person right now that I am acquainted with that has one. I noticed it more before I knew her when she gave speeches, but now that I've come to know her a bit, I don't really notice it at all.

Have you said anything to your dentist/oral surgeon about it? Have they offered any suggestions? Was it mentioned as a permanent side effect to the surgery?

Overall, I'd say that it's probably more in your head than it is an actual issue.

[SpanksTheMonkey]

Hi Sera thanks for the reply well to be brutally honest here the surgery I had was a complete extraction of my natural teeth.

Or due to bad luck and/or genetic gum disease what was left of them.

It just wasn't healthy to leave them in any further I had years of headaches/swelling/horrible mouth pain just had no choice.

So I had the surgery and then they made me a full denture at 28 which I don't wear due to the fact it looks fake!

I know it dose because people have told me so looking back the doc was very nice and did the best he could for me I think.

But still I just cant being myself to wear them so I guess in the absence of the teeth I developed the lisp.

I think that on top of the fact I'm now 30 with no teeth is really what is wearing on my mind.

I mean you cant tell at all unless I smile so I avoid that in public or around people I don't know that well.

Its just the darn lisp that bothers me lately I'm hoping I can teach myself to lose it if I concentrate enough..

[SeraBella]

I understand more where you are coming from now. Honestly, I can't imagine what it would be like to deal with that. I love to laugh and smile, and I'd hate to have to constantly worry about that...and then on top of those insecurities there is a lisp as well.

I don't know if it's possible to really get rid of the lisp entirely without teeth since they affect how the tongue moves and therefore pronunciation of various sounds...which is where your lisp comes in.

Honestly, to answer your original question, I think you'll find some people who think nothing of lisps, some who dislike them, some who don't notice, some who are judgemental about them...just like everything else in the world.

I know you were just asking opinions and views about lisps, and not advice on how to "fix" the situation, but I am one of those people who annoyingly gives unwarranted advice (I get it from my mother). I don't know your financial situation, or to what extent you'd really go to change the situation, but absolutely amazing things can be done with dentistry today. Amazing things. Seriously.

The dentures you have may not be "right" for you. If nothing else, I'd suggest a visit to a doctor that specializes in dentures and just discuss your issues. Maybe they're too big/small for your mouth and that's why they look fake. And maybe they don't really look fake, but the people who say they do are used to what you used to look like, or look like now, so with your dentures in it's a completely different look and they just aren't used to it.

Sorry for putting in more than my two cents.