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Dentures are a great way of filling in the gaps in your mouth that may be caused by tooth loss, decay, or damage. In addition, dentures improve the aesthetics of your smile and overall health as tooth loss can cause serious oral health complications and difficulty in eating, thus nutritional deficiencies.
The longer you wear a denture, the more likely it will require a dental repair. A denture repair is performed when there is damage to your denture. For instance, it can be required if you have a crack or a chip in your tooth, the denture is damaged, a tooth is broken off, or a replacement clasp is needed.
This article discusses some things you should be aware of if you have dentures and need a denture repair.
The following are the steps that are taken during the repair of your dentures:
The first step of repairing a denture is realigning the broken dentures. Next, dentures adhesives, pastes, and powders used to help the dentures stay in place are applied if our dentures are divided into two. The adhesives are applied to both the labial and lingual surfaces.
The next step is to hold the repaired dentures in position. The method used to keep your dentures in place depends on factors like the type of adhesive used and the extent of your damage. However, the standard procedure always used is using a tongue blade. In this method, your cosmetic dentist in spring, TX, divides the tongue blade into half to form two wooden splints. These splints are attached to the occlusal part of your denture to create a bridge that firmly holds the two pieces of the denture in position.
Once your denture is firm enough, a dentist near you will apply a small amount of plaster to the tissue side of the fracture. The remaining plaster is placed on a wooden or glass surface, and the denture is then settled into the plaster to have a better impression cast. Once the paster is set, approximately after 20 minutes, the wooden splints are removed from the occlusal surfaces.
The dentures are removed carefully using a laboratory knife from the already set plaster. This step is crucial and should be careful because the process must be repeated if the slab cast breaks. Next, the impression cast is trimmed using a model trimmer. Finally, additional trimming is done to allow the dentures to fit in place securely.
Once this is done, an acrylic bur removes the remaining residue from the dentures.
The final step of the denture repair process is to prepare the cats and fix the denture. First, a liquid foil substitute is applied over the surfaces of the impressions cast, and this foil covers all the pore openings. The dentures are then washed to cleanse them from any collocated debris
; they are then dried and repositioned on the impression cast. Next, a liquid monomer is applied along the edges of your denture. A powder polymer is also gently applied over the liquid, and this process is repeated until the layers build up to form a sturdy bond.
Once the liquid and powder monomer has been added to the labial and lingual parts of your denture, petroleum jelly is applied. This is then left to sit for at most five minutes or until the acrylic reaches the doughy stage before it is immersed in warm water. Once the acrylic hardens, the denture is removed from the cast and then polished and inspected for proper porosity, alignment, and sharp edges.
The denture repair process is no more painful than the denture fixation process. However, you may experience discomfort and soreness, but this will go away after some time. However, if you experience pain after the denture repair process, your mouth is more likely to be adjusting to the dentures.
If you need more information about denture repairs in Spring, TX, visit Dr. Paul Graf, DDS – Houston Cosmetic & Family Dentistry in Spring, TX.