How Do They Make Dentures?
Other People Are Reading
-
Preparing Your Mouth
-
The first step to getting dentures has to do with your mouth, not the dentures. Your dentist will have to make some decisions about the optimum condition of your mouth before making a cast. If teeth are to be pulled, which teeth? If teeth are to remain, do they need work prior to making a cast of your mouth? If you are to get implants--either mini-implants or full implants--what plans have to be made to place them and allow your mouth to heal prior to taking a cast of your mouth? All these considerations must be taken into account, and all procedures needed must be complete before a cast can be taken.
Taking The Rough Cast
-
After your mouth has been prepared for your dentures, a cast will be made of your mouth. If you are only getting an upper or lower denture only, that portion of your mouth will be cast. A tray shaped like either the jaw or palate will be filled with a fast-setting plaster-like compound. The tray will be slipped into place in your mouth and allowed to firm up. It will then be removed. These rough casts of your mouth will be used to create a personalized tray for a finer fitting to follow.
-
A Finer Casting
-
The rough cast serves as the basis for a personal tray that conforms closely to the exact size, curves and angles of your mouth. This tray can then be used to create another far more exact cast, which will be used to create the actual mold for the fitting denture.
The Mockup
-
This fine mold will first be used to make a denture specifically for fittings. A plastic rim is used as a base for wax teeth. This is then used to check the size, angle, alignment, color and shape of the individual teeth. Wax permits fine alterations to be done as part of the fitting process. When the entire denture fits to the satisfaction of you and your dentist and all notes on cosmetic details have been made, this wax and plastic denture will be the model for your real denture.
The End Product
-
The dental prosthetician will use a combination of acrylics, resins, metal and, in some cases, porcelain to create the final denture. This will be returned to your dental office for a final check. If there are any remaining problems, it will be returned until a working final product is cleared. It is more likely that you will leave with a fitting denture.
Adjustment
-
The final stage to getting a new denture or set of dentures is the step that occurs as you put them to use. No matter how well manufactured a denture is, there will be ways in which it fails to function the way your original teeth did or the way your slowly deteriorating teeth have been. As a result, there will be a period of adjustment as you relearn how to eat, drink and speak. There is likely to be some discomfort as your gums and palate become accustomed to the presence of the acrylic denture. This is as much a part of the process as the original fabrication, however, and before you panic and hurry back to the dentist, you should give yourself some time to adapt.
-
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Valplast International Corp., wikimedia commons
