What happened to microsoft word?

Hello,
Whenever I attempt to open a microsoft word document, I get the message that the function can't be performed because a dialog box is open. There aren't any other windows or applications opened so why is this happening? Also, I downloaded "microsoft word viewer" so I can now at least read word documents, but of course it doesn't allow me to edit or create new documents. In addition, I think my word program was accidentally deleted or something because the icon for it is missing, too. How can I get word and wordpad back? Thank you in advance for your help.
Regards,
luckylady