tech tidbits

Learn the secrets to making dentures easy

Relieving Denture Obstacles

By Doug Brydels, CDT

entures have been a growth sector for dental laboratories, however that doesnt
mean they are without obstacles. To help you meet patient demand as painlessly
as possible, JDT asked the denture experts at DENTSPLY for some tips. Here are five
denture headaches and DENTSPLYs techniques to avoid them.

Obstacle 1: Denture Base

Porosity
To avoid denture base porosity,
eliminate these common problems:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

7.

Underpacking insufficient material

in mold.
Improper time or temperature
control during cure.
Incorrect monomer-polymer
proportion.
Insufficient pressure during curing
process.
Air trapped into the mass during
mixing.
Material packed before proper
gelation or packed too long in a
gelation period.
Bench setting is recommended (30
minutes) for thick cases.

Obstacle 2: When To Cure

Let your denture base bench set 30
minutes under pressure prior to curing.
This allows time to bond to denture
teeth, allows time to equalize pressure
in the flask, and reduces the chance of
porosity in large or thick cases.

Obstacle 3: Getting It Right

There are five simple things you can
do to improve your denture success rate:
1.
2.

3.
4.

5.

Remove the glaze from ridgelap of the

teeth.
Mix denture base material in a
container with lid intact during
gelation.
Trial pack when the material has
reached dough consistency.
If the material has reached the snap
stage there may not be sufficient
monomer available to adequately
bond to the plastic teeth.
Allow the flask to remain under
pressure for 30 minutes prior to
starting the cure cycle. This will allow
the monomer more time to develop a
better bond between the denture base
and denture teeth.

Obstacle 4: Occlusal Errors

Dont make these four mistakes and
youll reduce occlusal errors:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Using too much material.

Using plaster and excessive pressure.
Using dental stone not recommended
by the manufacturer.
Packing at improper gelation stage.

Obstacle 5: Denture Base

Discoloration
Discoloration is usually caused by
contamination of the mold and/or cast.
The following can lead to discoloration of
the denture base:
1.
2.
3.
30 Journal of Dental Technology June/July 2011

Water left on the mold during

packing.
Wax not properly boiled out.
Oil from separators.

4.
5.

6.
7.

Wax solvent.
Detergents. Avoid using liquid
detergents or powdered detergents
that contain additives such as scents,
degreasers, bleaches, etc.
Excessive amounts of separator or
wet separator.
Patient medications have
been shown to effect denture
discoloration.

Source: DENTSPLY

About the Author:

Brydels is a technical manager at
DENTSPLY Prosthetics and oversees
the Removable
Technical Training
Center in York,
Pa. He has more
than 30 years of
experience working
in all phases of
full and partial
dentures.