What To Do With The Broken Denture - Denture Repair
Even though dentures are fabricated from extremely durable materials, they will break, wear out, a tooth will come out, or their fit will change. Then its time for denture repair.
Accidents happen, dogs still like to chew on plates of the dental kind, and trash compacters have never taken kindly to dentures. In fact, it is frequently not a matter of "if," but rather a matter of "when" a denture will become broken, lost, or damaged beyond repair.
One can be assured that a problem will happen when least expected, and immediate, usually important, plans definitely will be altered unless a person is prepared.
Damaged Denture - How to Expect the Unexpected and Be Prepared
A short-term use duplicate denture will bridge the gap while a regular denture is being repaired, renovated, or replaced. Sometimes this type of denture is referred to as an "embarrassment denture" because it helps a person avoid the embarrassment of being without teeth in an emergency or during planned denture maintenance.
While this type of denture may be made at any time from an existing functional denture, it generally is fabricated immediately after a new denture is made. The embarrassment denture is neither as accurate nor as esthetic and durable as the original, but it is adequate and only meant for short-term use. The cost is generally considerably less than the original denture.
Such an interim prosthesis may be relined annually and adjusted in advance to fit the current changing shape of an individual's jaws, and therefore be ready to use at a moment's notice.
However, some individuals choose to have their embarrassment denture relined and adjusted only when they need the short-term denture. Following this latter course means that they will have to wait to wear their interim denture until an appointment can be scheduled with a dentist to complete the reline and any adjustments. But a reline for an embarrassment denture can be done in the dentist's office during a single appointment so a patient may leave with it refitted in the mouth.
In either case, a person would not be without a prosthesis while their regular denture is being worked on.
The Embarrassment Denture Facilitates Planned Periodic Maintenance
All dentures need to be periodically relined to accommodate the constant change in shape of a person's jaws. There are also times when the plastic body of a denture needs to be changed due to deterioration, or the entire denture replaced because of wear or poor fit from changing mouth conditions that can no longer be remedied by relining.
While relines can be completed in one appointment office visit, more durable relines may require that a dentist keep a denture for several days. Replacing the plastic body of a denture (called a rebase) takes several days and making a replacement denture takes several weeks.
It becomes easy to see how an embarrassment denture would solve being without one's regular denture for a period of time, even for planned maintenance, while getting on with one's life.
by Joseph J. Massad, D.D.S.
+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.
Complete Denture Care and Repair
So, you've got brand new false teeth? And you think you're set for life, right? Not exactly.
It's frustrating but true: from the day you first don your dentures, the tissue in your mouth begins to shrink. Your replacement teeth are already on their way to not fitting. The ridges that support the dentures seem to have a life of their own and they begin to recede, the result? Loose dentures. The upper denture moves up and back, and the lower denture settles down. This causes your chin to approach your nose at as much as 1/16th inch per year! On top of that, the bite often goes awry, moving the upper teeth back behind the lowers.
Your appearance changes over time, your cheeks sag a little, new wrinkles around the mouth appear. Diagonal lines run from the nose to the corners of the mouth. Does the image of Gabby Hayes come to mind?
The good news
Denture wearers who refuse to succumb to a premature look of age can take heart. After all, this transformation is not caused by cheap dentures, but old dentures. It's not magic: a new denture can be made. To put it simply, the base is extended to compensate for the shrinkage in the tissue; this moves the front teeth forward to their original position. And takes years off your appearance.
Presto, chango!
Even if your present false teeth are in perfect condition, the changes in your mouth date them. In fact, don't expect dentures to last more than 5 to 10 years and still give you a natural look. A fact of life. But by replacing dentures as your mouth changes, you'll retain a youthful fullness to your face and keep a younger looking smile. If your dentures have been around a while, see your dentist and consider a new set. Old prosthodontics can make you look older, too. And that can be fixed.
+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.