About Denture Repairs

As people grow older in time, their dentures become loose. A person’s jaw changes because their gums and bones naturally recede and shrink. Dentures that fit poorly in the mouth or worn out dentures can cause infections, mouth sores, and other oral issues.

Damage to Dentures

Many people suffer both mentally and physically from wearing broken dentures. They may have damaged their dentures by dropping them on a hard surface, biting down hard on objects, or just because of normal wear and tear. When your dentures are damaged, they should be fixed as soon as possible by a professional dentist. Your dentist can usually repair dentures the same day you bring them into the office.

Not all damage occurs suddenly to dentures. It can happen over time or because of an accident or fall. Cracked dentures that are fitting poorly are the main reason that most people need repairs. Your upper and lower dentures are constantly applying pressure on each other as you chew food and speak. Certain areas of your dentures will become over-stressed and misaligned and will break. Dropping your dentures will cause damage not only to the teeth but also to the gum line. If a person has a partial denture, the metal clasps can come loose and cause damage to the teeth and gums.

Reline Dentures

Having your dentures relined by a professional will keep your dentures working properly and give you a secure fit. Some people get sores in their mouth and have tender gums and are unable to wear regular dentures. Your professional dentist can line your dentures with a material that is made for people with this type of situation. It is a soft material that will help to keep the gum from getting sore spots like the hard-acrylic material. The soft-liners last a couple of years and they will need replacement. If patients would like a more permanent solution then the dentist can use implant retained dentures.

Provisional Relines

For patients who have not had their dentures taken care of in a long time, the patient’s gums may be swollen, red or misshaped. This makes getting a good impression for new soft or hard relines a problem. Without a good impression, it could lead to making the problems that the patient already has worse.

A temporary or medicated reline material is then used by professionals until the inflammation, sores, and redness are gone. The medicated reline keeps the denture fitting tightly and is soft and pliable. After a few weeks, the dentist can then reline with the hard-acrylic material or fit the patient with new dentures.

Rebasing

Rebasing is when the acrylic denture base has worn out, become discolored or broken and needs to be replaced. The teeth may be in great shape and so the base is completely replaced. Rebasing will give your teeth a new solid and stable denture base.

If a large change is not required, your dentist can add back material in order to improve the fit of your dentures. This can usually be done right in the dentist’s office in one day. Acrylic resin has many benefits for the patient. It bonds to a broken or fractured denture quickly, it is comfortable, durable, visually pleasing to look at, and is repairable. For patients who need a lot of work done to their dentures, their dentist may need to send them off to a dental laboratory.