What are the UNDERLYING reasons for denture fractures?

Why did my denture break?

Fabricating functional dentures involve skilled craftmanship, education, quality materials and patience from all parties.....

A common reaction from patients whose plate has broken is:

"Why did my denture break?"

That chocolate bar, apple or crunchy pork crackling may have been the cuplrit, but the underlying reasons will be more difficult to explain.

The reasons your denture has broken at the most embarrasing moment are as followed

1. You dropped the plate on a hard surface ...it's that simple. 

Everything about the plate might be in perfect condition but, it shattered on impact. The acrylic resins that most dentures are made out of are actually quite brittle. Most complete dentures will not withstand drop of approximately 1 metre, especially if the floor is ceramic tiles.

2. You were busy chewing away and your upper denture split down the middle...ouch!

Have you noticed that in recent times, your denture is getting looser.

It could be that the alvealar bone and gums have shrunk since the denture was made. the plate will not change it's shape and you strangely finds it "rocking" gently from side to side.  

Most of the shrinkage occurs in the area underneath the teeth hence the denture begins to rock much like a see-saw. Eventually 3 meals a day becomed too much and snap... it's off to the dental technician.

3. The denture is getting old and worn. Imagine for a moment any man made prosthesis that is used for chewing, laughing, speaking and drinking all day, every day for many many years.

Naturally the acrylic thins out and the teeth wear flat. Snap... your now thin and frail denture is in many pieces.

4. Partial dentures create weak points for acrylic dentures.

Quite often acrylic partial dentures snap adjacent to the natural teeth. As the gums shrink the denture begins to pivot slightly on the natural teeth. This is a weak spot!

The unfortunate news is that although an urgent denture repair is required, it is likely that additional treatments will be required to prevent re-fracture.

All these treatments will be discussed in subsequent blogs.

Find out more about our specialist Denture and Dental Implant Dentures skills here: Wellington Dentures

"Can my broken denture be repaired?"

This is the distressed call often recieved from patients.................the answer in 95% of the cases is YES, IT CAN BE FIXED.

Often denture repairs can be done within one working day, although contrary to popular belief, dental technicians do not just glue the broken pieces together.

The denture repair process has many steps that I would like to highlight in this blog:

1. The two (or more) pieces are temporarily glued together by the technician. It is critical that the pieces are glued together in the correct position or when the repair is completed the denture will be lopsided.

2. A dental stone model or silicone matrix is made of the broken pieces to ensure they can be re-broken, prepared and re-attached at a later date. The technician must take special care to not move the broken piece when pouring this dental model

3. When the stone model has set, the glued pieces can be re-broken, ground and prepared using tungsten carbide and stone burs. Retention grooves are made in the acrylic to help the new material to bond.

4. In the meantime, the stone model is prepared with seperator solution and the broken pieces are re-attached to the stone model.

5. Liquid acrylic is now added to the broken areas of the denture, into the retention grooves and of sufficient thickness to give the new bond strength.

6. The denture is now processed and cured under heat and pressure. Once processed, the denture must be ground, finished and polished to ensure no rough areas cut into the patients tongue.

So............next time your denture breaks, take pity on the dental technician who needs to urgently repair this intricate device

My next blog will look at WHY dentures break and WHAT can be done to prevent them from breaking again?

Find out more about our specialist Denture and Dental Implant Dentures skills here:

Wellington Dentures