Denture Repairs and Relines

The mouth changes and reshapes with age. Improper bite, weight loss or gain, illness, and more contribute to these changes. When this happens, you may need a reline or rebase.

What Is a Denture Reline?

There are three types of denture relines: hard reline (general maintenance), soft reline (for tender or sore gums), and temporary relines (palliative care when ready for new dentures).

A hard reline should occur every two years. Dr. Pease fits the denture with a soft material suitable for taking a gum impression. He then sends it to the lab, which creates new acrylic from the impression, ensuring the dentures fit correctly to your gums.

A soft reline occurs when the patient experiences extreme tenderness or soreness due to the hardness of the denture. A softer, more pliable material replaces the standard acrylic. As with the hard reline, repeat the process every two years.

Please note that Dr. Pease may discover an underlying cause of this tenderness, one correctable with surgery or other treatment.

A temporary reline occurs when the patient waits too long to replace or reline a set of dentures. This often results in swollen, misshapen gums, which forbid properly fitting a new set of dentures. In these cases, Dr. Pease uses a medicated reline material on the old dentures. Once the gums return to a healthy state, he then creates the impressions necessary for either a hard reline or a new set of dentures.

What Is a Denture Rebase?

In a rebase, the entire acrylic portion of your dentures (the part that resembles gums) is replaced. Dr. Pease recommends this when the teeth are in good shape but the denture has fractures or needs repair. The procedure is the same as in a hard reline, but typically takes the lab an extra day to return the completed denture.

If it has been two years since you had a reline, or seven years since you received your dentures, schedule a consultation with Dr. Pease today.

What Are Permanent Soft Liners?

Dr. Pease applies a permanent softliner, a type of reline material, for denture patients with extreme sensitivity due to deterioration, such as bone loss. This soft, cushiony material lasts for several years and protects patients whose discomfort makes traditional dentures painful, but whose jawbone will not support implants.

Denture reline is common, as peoples’ mouths change shape over time. If you feel pain or irritation around your dentures, or experience food entrapment or instability, you may need a reline. Contact Dr. Pease for a consultation today.

Denture Repairs

As dentures age, they become looser and more prone to break, as the loosening causes them to move and rock.

If your dentures suffer damage, have them repaired as soon as possible. There are two basic repair types: repairs with impressions and simple repairs.

If one of the prosthetics cracked or fractured, it may be repairable or it may need replacement, depending on the extent of the damage and the age of the dentures. If a fracture occurs, the lab temporarily glues the pieces together and then creates a mold. Next, the lab removes approximately a 1/8-inch portion of the prosthetic surrounding the fracture, replacing it with new acrylic.

Older dentures typically require replacement. Most specialists recommend replacing your dentures every five to seven years. What’s more, dentures rarely fit the same way after the repair of a break, no matter how well done.

Common simple repairs include adjustment, rebase, and reline. Adjustment is common when you experience a sore spot. This typically occurs if your dentures rub against your mouth’s soft tissues. Rebase involves remaking the gum-colored portion of your dentures.

In a reline, dentures receive resurfacing to help them fit more securely. Do this every two years to help prevent loosening and breakage.

If you have damaged dentures, schedule a consultation with Dr. Pease today.

Contact Dr. Pease & Associates