Good morning, @mimiparris. You’ve certainly had quite an experience already with your jaw cancer and subsequent surgery & radiation. I’m really relieved for you to hear recovery is going well! Now to replace the missing teeth.

While you’re waiting for other members who have had similar experiences to reply, I thought maybe I could help you with a little information about bridges and removable partial dentures.
The person you referenced with the bridge that she doesn’t wear, is most likely using a partial denture. It’s removable and if it’s not fitting correctly, it can be uncomfortable. I’m wondering if perhaps she didn’t have adjustments made as the tissue in her mouth changed after healing from surgery. From the time of the original fitting of the partial, tissue can change requiring modifications to the partial. The dentist can easily make those changes by adding denture material with a reline or adjustments to the little clasps on the denture.

Partial dentures would give you a quick and relatively inexpensive replacement to those lost teeth so that you have an even bite again and teeth for talking and chewing.
Another big concern is extrusion which can take place if you don’t have lower teeth. With no contact from the opposing lower teeth, the upper teeth can migrate down into the lower space left by the removal. Eventually that can cause premature loss of those teeth as well. So from a dental health standpoint it is important to replace those lost teeth.

A dental bridge is not removable. This is a one piece unit of constructed replacement teeth which will need to anchor on one or more of your remaining teeth. They give a solid, natural mouth feel. However in your case a bridge may not be an option if there aren’t any strong anchor teeth available to use.

There are dental implants where one or more anchors are implanted in the bone so that new teeth can be attached to those. However, with your history and surgery I’m not sure that’s a viable option either. This will need to be discussed with your dentist and your Oral and maxillofacial surgeon, or whomever is your guiding doctor with your care.

If you need any more information about tooth replacements and need examples or explanations, don’t hesitate to ask me. What has your dentist suggested for restoration of your teeth?