What are the UNDERLYING reasons for denture fractures?
Why did my denture break?
Fabricating functional dentures involve skilled craftmanship, education, quality materials and patience from all parties…..
A common reaction from patients whose plate has broken is:
How did this happen?
The culprit is often a harmless piece of toast, peanut or piece of fruit cake on Xmas day (ahahahahahahah).
The underlying causes could be one of, or a combination of, many factors.
Reason Number One
The denture doesn’t fit anymore and you might rightly ask, how is this possible?
When a denture is fabricated, the acrylic, metal and/or thermplastic materials used to design this plate are processed to the accuracy of the impressions taken during fabrication. For example, for the patient who requires a new lower full denture, we would take extremely accurate impressions of the soft and bony tissues of the patients lower ridge (i.e. mandibular tissue supporting area). Therefore, when a denture is processed in high-quality acrylic, the fit is optimal.
However, as with anything in the world, change is inevitable. Over time the patient’s gums, bony tissues and oral environment change. Sometimes the patient may lose weight due to a poor health episode. This will result in the once perfectly fitting plate now rocks slightly. Left untreated, the rock or movement will only increase. Often to compensate the patient will subconsciously begin chewing on different areas of the mouth to maximise stability. This artificially wears the denture teeth and if untreated can lead to disharmony in the patient’s jaw relationship.
The patient now has a mobile, poorly fitting and ill supported denture that simply requires that one fateful peanut to act like the fulcrum of a see-saw. Acrylic is brittle and the poorly fitting denture is more likely to snap.
If your dentures are poorly fitting, come and visit our team and see how we can assist you.
Other reasons for denture fracture will be explained in future blogs.