Having fabricated dentures for over 20 years, I can say with full conviction that a lot can be done to provide a patient with a well-fitting set of dentures that is painless in more ways than one.

Do you have dental phobia?

Dental phobia is a real and legitimate fear for many people.

With historical terms like the “murder house” used to describe visits to the dentist, today’s references are less severe due in part to advancements in the field of pain control, quality products, technological advancements and highly trained, professional staff. 

When a new set of teeth is made for a patient who has long since lost his/her natural dentition, the factors determining success are varied and complex.

Age of the patient's existing dentures is important, so too is the level of wear of the teeth, severity of bone resorption, the patient’s medical conditions and adaptability.

All factors have significant impacts. The severity of the patient's bite, the sensitivity of the patient’s lower jaw….even factors as random as, yes, believe it or not, the quality and quantity of saliva. They are all critical to success.

Our experience in this field is your gain. As highly trained clinical dental technicians, our team has dealt with the broadest spectrum of cases and can proudly boast an impeccable reputation.

Most important elements for successful dentures

The elements of successful treatment are numerous and with years of experience to draw from, we have identified these as some of the most important:

"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