Wearing dentures applies pressure to the underlying bony ridges that causes the bone to dissolve away (“resorb”) over time. The resorption process doesn’t usually occur uniformly, however, so the result is a denture that no longer fits the ridge it was built to fit. The denture will then rock, tip, and apply enough contact pressure in certain areas to cause pain and denture sores. How quickly the dentures come out of adjustment depends on several factors, including the amount of chewing force the patient can develop, the size and shape of the underlying bony ridge, and the patient’s unique skeletal biology. Thin, sharp ridges resorb the fastest, particularly in patients who can develop heavy muscle contraction forces. Patient’s whose bone density is low (e.g. women with osteoporosis) will experience a greater rate of bone resorption.
Your dentist may recommend any of the following treatment options to stabilize and/or better retain loose or poorly adjusted dentures:
Chairside Denture Reline
This procedure is done in-office, to record the current position of denture-supporting soft tissues, and fill any gaps between the denture and the soft tissues with denture acrylic.
Laboratory Denture Reline
This procedure involves grinding away a few millimeters of acrylic from the soft tissue interfacing portion of the denture base, placing impression material in the denture, and inserting it into the mouth to record the current soft tissue contours. The denture is then sent to a laboratory, where a stone cast is poured from the impression. The impression material is removed, and replaced with heat-processed acrylic.
Denture Rebase
This procedure, completed in the laboratory, uses your existing denture teeth, but replaces all of (not just the surface portion of) the acrylic denture base with a new base. The procedure is indicated if you need more lip or cheek support to fill out your facial proportions, in addition to filling in the gaps between the denture and underlying soft tissues.
Dental Implants
Your dentist may recommend placing one or more dental implants into the jawbone under your denture. Standardized and custom hardware is available for attaching the denture to the implant(s). Custom hardware generally comes at a greater cost—ask your dentist. Implants can greatly stablilize dentures, decrease the rate of bone resorption under the denture, and dramatically improve a denture patient’s oral function.
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