Steps in Making Dentures

How to make dentures

At Saskatoon Denture Clinic, the typical process for making dentures is as follows:

Consultation

You may want to have more information before proceeding to have your dentures made. At this appointment, the denturist will explain in detail the various treatment options based upon your individual circumstances.

During the consultation, you will receive a complete and extensive oral exam to determine any abnormalities.

The oral exam is composed of:

• an update of your medical and dental history.
• a tissue and bone assessment.
• a check of your denture’s stability, structural integrity and bite.
• an oral hygiene care review.

There is no fee for consultations. We understand that you need to make an educated decision before deciding which treatment plan is best for you.

First Appointment: Impressions

When constructing any appliance we begin with preliminary impressions in which we create a study model of the patient’s mouth environment at the present time. From the models, we construct a custom tray made individually for each patient.

Second Appointment: Bite

Using the custom tray made from the preliminary impressions we take a final impression. This impression gives an exact duplication of your gums, teeth and ridges. From these impressions final models are made.

These models become the foundation for the construction of the dental appliance. From these models, we create custom dental apparatuses (occlusal rims) to record a patient’s jaw registration (bite). The occlusal rims will be used to determine the proper positioning and length of the teeth. The accurate placement of the teeth is essential for proper lip support.

At this same appointment we will guide you through the selection of the replacement teeth. There are many types of artificial teeth produced by many suppliers that come in all sizes, shapes and quality. At Saskatoon Denture Clinic, we use Ivoclar Phonares II and Vitapan Excell denture teeth with which are designed to match the age and characteristics of each patient. They offer exceptional aesthetic qualities and high wear resistance.

Third Appointment: Try-In

The denture has been constructed in a wax base so that we can allow the patient to place the denture in the mouth. This is the best way for the patient to observe the smile, bite, placement of teeth while speaking, the support of the lips and facial structure before the denture is set into hard acrylic.

The denturist will also evaluate the occlusion (bite), placement of teeth for speech and support of the facial muscles. This will ensure that the denture is accurate both functionally and aesthetically.

At this appointment, it is important that the patient be sure that the color, shape, and size of the teeth selected reconstruct the smile they envisioned. If you would like another opinion, we suggest bring a spouse or friend to this appointment. We will proceed to the final phase once the patient is 100 percent satisfied with their appearance.

Once the patient is happy with the aesthetics and the denturist has assured all functional aspects are correct we continue with the final arrangement of teeth. All dentures at Saskatoon Denture Clinic are set in an equilibrated position.