GUIDE FOR DENTURE APPOINTMENT
1) First appointment - taking the impressions
On this appointment, dental team will take first impressions of your teeth and surrounding tissues with silicon-like material.
To take the impressions, special mouth trays will be filled with the liquid silicone, then those filled trays will be placed in your mouth for a few minutes, until the silicon sets.
Depending on the dentures you need, dentist will take impressions of the upper or lower arch or both of them.
If we need impressions of both arches, we will take fi rst impression of one arch, then the other one.
It might feel uncomfortable and in some people it can trigger gag reflux. Try to relax and breath slowly through your nose. You can focus on wiggling your toes, but try not to move, as that will distort the impression and we will have to start from the beginning.
Those impressions then, are sent to the dental lab, who will process it and send us back all what we need for the next appointment.
2) Second appointment - taking the registration of your bite
On this appointment, we will receive a model, made out of wax, from the dental lab.
We will warm it up, to make it softer, place it in your mouth and ask you to bite as you would normally, when you are at rest ( NOT like while eating or talking).
Remember DON’T try to bite with your front teeth. We need that to know in what exact position is your lower jaw in relation to the upper one, on the daily basis.
Sometimes on this appointment, the lab will ask us, to do additional impressions as previously, but the silicon will be placed in a tray, that was specially made for shape and size of your mouth. That will help us get better understanding of the shape of your gums or palate.
This wax registration of your bite (and second impressions if applied) is sent back to the lab technician, who will now proceed with making the “try in” model of your denture.
On this appointment we will as well choose the shade of the teeth for your denture.
3) Third appointment - Try in model
On this appointment, we will receive a wax model of your denture, from the lab.
This model will have an actual acrylic teeth that will be placed in your denture, but the base where teeth are imbedded is made out of wax.
The wax base, on this stage, should fit curves and crevices of your mouth, but we still can make changes to it, to make better fit.
The material of your future denture will be thinner, so it will feel less bulky in your mouth.
At this point you can still change the shade of the teeth, if you are not happy with it.
We will sent this wax model back to the dental lab and, if everything was fine with it on the appointment, we will let the lab know, to proceed with making your denture.
4) Fourth appointment - Denture fit
On this appointment you will receive your dentures.
We can make small adjustments to it with dental drill, and when everything fits well, you can take your dentures home.
Remember that it will feel weird at first. You might feel as you are speaking funny or have a few ulcers, before the gums get use to wearing it.
To make it easier on your self, you can initially wear them for few hours per day and slowly increase the wearing time.
You can read a book out loud to practice your speech, and use an over the counter Bonjela gel to help with ulcers.
You can try using denture glue, such as Fixodent, for better retention and seal from food particles getting under.
Start with eating soft foods first, and slowly go to harder food, as you accommodate.
And remember to always remove your dentures when you go to sleep, that will prevent fungal infections and chocking!
If after few weeks, the denture is still causing you ulcers, or you feel like you can bite only on one side of your mouth, book a review appointment with us.
