obstacle 1: Denture Base Porosity

To avoid denture base porosity, eliminate these common problems:

1. Underpacking insufficient material in mold.

2. Improper time or temperature control during cure.

3. Incorrect monomer-polymer proportion.

4. Insufficient pressure during curing process.

5. Air trapped into the mass during mixing.

6. Material packed before proper gelation or packed too long in a gelation period.

7. Bench setting is recommended (30 minutes) for thick cases.

obstacle 2: when to CureLet 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 rightThere are five simple things you can

do to improve your denture success rate:

1. Remove the glaze from ridgelap of the teeth.

2. Mix denture base material in a container with lid intact during gelation.

3. Trial pack when the material has reached dough consistency.

4. If the material has reached the snap stage there may not be sufficient monomer available to adequately bond to the plastic teeth.

5. 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 errorsDont make these four mistakes and

youll reduce occlusal errors:

1. Using too much material.2. Using plaster and excessive pressure.3. Using dental stone not recommended

by the manufacturer.4. 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. Water left on the mold during packing.

2. Wax not properly boiled out.3. Oil from separators.

relieving Denture obstacles

teCh tIDBIts

Dentures 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.

By Doug Brydels, CDT

4. Wax solvent.5. Detergents. Avoid using liquid

detergents or powdered detergents that contain additives such as scents, degreasers, bleaches, etc.

6. Excessive amounts of separator or wet separator.

7. 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.

Learn the secrets to making dentures easy

30 Journal of Dental technology June/July 2011