A broken acryic denture

Sometimes a denture can develop a crack in it and over time if the crack is not taken care of, the denture will break completely in half. Let’s go over the steps of taking care of the problem early first.

Cracked Denture

You may not have dropped your denture for a crack to develop, sometimes cracks just happen because of the pressure put on them by the opposing teeth. You should be able to spot it early as it develops. The first step you should take it so call your dentist and explain what has happened. They will set up a time that is convenient for you to leave your denture with them, so that they can send it to the lab for repair. The lab will only need it for a few hours so that they can add more acrylic to the area that has cracked. The Best solution is to have a wire mesh placed inside the denture and then have it enforced with the acrylic. You should have your denture returned to you by that evening if you dropped it off by 9am.

Broken Denture

If you accidently dropped your denture or if it has broken in half on it’s own the process is a little more involved in fixing it. You will need to call your dentist and they will set up a time for you to come in. If there are no pieces missing from the denture, they can take a quick impression of your gums and send it with the broken denture to the lab. The repair time should not take longer than a day and it will be returned to you. Do not try to repair your denture with super glue because this will mess up the acrylic and it will be harder to put the denture back together correctly. I there are pieces missing from the denture the denture may have to be remade but your dentist may try to take an impression and then send it to the lab to see if they can fix it first.

Broken Denture Teeth

If the teeth have broken on the denture it is really quite easy to fix. Again, you will need to call your dentist and they will send it off to the lab where it can be repaired within an hour or two. It is always best to have your denture repaired at a lab because there materials are much better and will last the longest. Your denture will also be covered for a short time under warranty by the lab that fixed it, so if it breaks again in the same spot within the first year, they should repair it at no cost. 

Denture adhesive for loose fitting dentures

There are a few reasons why a denture can become ill fitting and loose. We will go over the reasons why a denture can get loose and then discuss the solutions to fix it.

• Healing
  

After your teeth have been removed, it takes 6 months to a year for the gums to smooth out entirely. So, since your dentures are either made right away or six weeks later you will definitely have some shrinkage in the gum tissue which will cause your dentures to feel loose where as before they may have fit snugly.

• Bone Loss

Over the years, after your teeth have been removed, the bone underneath the gums will start to receed and become smaller. When this happens, the dentures will begin to feel too big and also very loose. There is no way to stop this from happening as this is a result of aging.

• Weight Loss

If you have recently lost a lot of weight this will affect your mouth and the fit of your dentures as well.

• Solutions

One of the most common ways to fix a denture that is loose is to have a reline done. You will have to make an appointment at your dentist office where they will take a quick impression and send your denture to the lab  so that they can add material where needed to make it fit tighter. This process is usually completed in one day so it is best if you go in the morning so that the lab can have it done by that afternoon. If the doctor so chooses and has the right equipment, he can add a soft reline to your denture there at his office. I recommend the reline at the lab because it is more permanent.

The other option is to have implants placed in the bone of your jaw so that your denture can be snapped into place. Implants can only be placed if you have enough bone to support them, so if your bone has receeded a lot you may not qualify to have the  implants placed. If you think that this is an option that you would like to pursue, than you should contact your dentist for a consult so that he can evaluate you.

Dentures can be a pain and I hope this helps you find a solution to better fitting dentures!

Many people think that they are getting rid of their teeth problems when they decide to have all of their teeth extracted and dentures made. The truth is dentures can be a total nightmare if they are not designed properly. Are you or a loved one having trouble with wearing your dentures because:

• Gagging because the denture is touching the back of your throat
• Loose dentures that fall out easily
• The dentures look too big  and make your lips stick out
• Chewing is very difficult
• They hurt too much to wear
• The lower denture just won’t stay down and in place

All 0f the above problems can be dealt with and handled by a professional dentist or his assistants. They are all very normal problems that most everyone that has a denture has unfortunately dealt with.  The problem is that some people never get these problems resolved and lay their dentures aside only wearing them for church and going out in town. They can hardly wait to get home and spit them out of their aching mouth after only wearing them for an hour or two!

Allow me to help you understand how to resolve these problems with your dentures. First, gagging from your denture can be resolved by either home remedies or by doing to your dentist for an adjustment. The home remedy is to rinse with warm salt water before placing the denture in your mouth. If this does not help after a couple days then you should call your dentist and set up an appointment for an adjustment. The dentist will take a tool and smooth off the back edge in order to make it curve inward away from the back of your palate. A lot of times the lab makes the post dam ( the back of the denture) area a little too long and by curving it inward it takes the denture away from the back of  the palate which is causing you to gag.

Loose dentures. There are a couple reasons why your denture may be loose . One is that you had your denture made right after your teeth were extracted and your gums had not healed completely. It usually takes a good 6 months before the gums will totally smooth out and before then you will have a lot of bumps and ridges in your gums.  The dentures will fit pretty good at first but over time they will get really loose as the gums smooth out. The other reason why your dentures may be loose is that over time as you get older the bone support under your gums shrink thus causing them to not fit as well as they use to. The fix for this is to go to your dentist for a reline. They will take your denture that morning and make an impression,send it to a lab, the lab will add material where needed to make the denture fit tighter and return it, the dentist will then call you that afternoon to come back in to try it  and make sure it fits better.

If the denture is causing your lips to protrude and looks huge in your mouth then it was not made properly to fit your mouth and you will definitely need to have a new one made — this is unexceptable! If you can’t chew with the dentures then you need to go back to your dentist so that he can adjust the bite. This will not get better over time– it needs to be adjusted!

With lower dentures, they are basically a challenge any way you look at them. They are very difficult to wear and get use to even more than an upper denture would be! The reason being is that your tongue and cheeks are down there and it feels like it gets in the way. There is no palate like the upper has to give it stability and suction and so it just wobbles around down there causing frustration. If you have a good solid ridge on the lower this is an extra plus for you because you can use denture  adhesive and usually it will stay down pretty well all day. It just takes a few months to get use to wearing it and teaching your tongue and cheeks how to keep it down and in. If you are still having trouble with keeping the lower denture in you may want to look into getting a few implants on the lower anterior in order to snap the denture down in place.