30 Aug What To Do When Your Dentures Break

Introduction

Dentures are structures that mimic natural teeth and tissues and are used to replace missing teeth and surrounding tissues. It aids in reconstructing the look of your smile, biting capacity, and talking. However, dental appliances like dentures are not very strong, and they can crack for some reasons like dropping them, biting on hard foods, or an accident.

When this happens, do not panic. You can do the following to fix your dentures or get another set of dentures. The following is a guide to the first aid measures and the procedures to follow when your dentures are damaged, together with the precautions to take in the future. 

Immediate Actions

Assess the Damage

– Next time, if your denture is broken, assess whether it has a small crack or chip or is completely shattered into parts. This will decide what your next course of action shall be.

Clean the Pieces

– Submerge the broken pieces under running water or gently wash them with a cloth to remove any substances on them. Avoid any contact with sharp items, tools, or objects. Examine them well and ensure the parts are through and dry before any repair work is attempted.

Try Temporary Fixes

– Fixing pastes or cement can be used as temporary measures to repair pieces, and denture adhesives or quick repair kits can also be used to bond pieces together. This could be a way to help you get through till your next appointment.

Protect Your Gums

– Chipped or fractured dentures will have rough and jagged surfaces that can scratch and injure the lining of the mouth and other tissues. To smooth out the rough areas of the cast, use dental wax or even chewing gum.

Avoid Certain Foods

– Avoid chewing complex products as this may cause the removal of other parts of the denture or disrupt the already loose pieces.

Seek Professional Help

– If your dentures are loose, broken, or uncomfortable, contact your denturist for an appointment for a repair or reline immediately. Any office of an denturist should be able to provide an appointment to anyone seeking help for denture emergencies.

Long-Term Solutions

Denture Repairs

– Explants can be shifted by your denturist, and rough edges can be blended using acrylic resin. They can also ensure that they fix some additional wires or meshes of metal if the breakdown is severe. If repairs are lengthy, they can take several months up to two years or so.

Relining Dentures

– This is the process of placing a new base material on the interior part of your current denture. It provides you with a better contact base against your gums and also aids in propping up a broken denture. Relining may perhaps provide you with extra use time before the need to replace the same is felt. 

Creating New Dentures

– If you find that the dentures are irreparable or just too old, then the best solution is to have a new set of dentures made. Moulds and measurements of your mouth will be taken to prepare new, accurate dentures.

Denture Care

To help prevent future breakage, properly care for your dentures daily: –

• A denture brush and paste are recommended to clean your dentures after each meal.

• We also use a cleansing solution to soak dentures, for instance, at night. This means that one cannot use hot water, which can cause the spoons to twist.

• Unlike full-time wear of dentures, it is advisable to give your gums some break by having denture-free time in a day.

• Handle dentures carefully. With both hands, and have one hand on top of the other over a folded handkerchief so as not to drop.

See Your Denturist Regularly 

– Reschedule your visits to the denturist to check on the fit and condition of your dentures at regular intervals. Dentures that are not well-fitted are more prone to fall off and have accidents. Making sure to get realignments and changing a worn denture also prevents the likelihood of a break.

Conclusion

Managing a broken denture is not easy, and one may feel frustrated. However, action can be taken in the form of temporary repair of the denture, and seeing your dentist soon for professional fixing or replacement will put your smile back in order. Proper care and cleaning alongside routine dental visits therefore mean that your new dentures should last for many years before one think about having them fixed.