Delivering Successful Complete Dentures

Part 5 of a 5-part series on Keys to Success and Predictability With Fabrication of Complete Dentures

• Part 1: Set Yourself Up for Success — Use the initial consultation/ examination to glean essential information about candidates for complete dentures

• Part 2: Making A Great Impression — Simplified accurate edentulous impressions and other records for enhancing complete denture success

• Part 3a: Accurate Denture Records — How to Determine and Record Tooth Position

• Part 3b: Simplified Accurate Denture Records — How to determine and record VDO and centric relation

• Part 4: The Essential Try-In Acceptance Appointment

• Part 5 (this article): Delivery of successful complete dentures

Synopsis:

The delivery of complete dentures is a pivotal step in the fabrication process and requires understanding and implementing denture fundamentals for predictable success. This course discusses key laboratory procedures that support the delivery appointment, including precision injection processing to control polymerization shrinkage. Clinical steps are presented, including effective refinement of the denture bases using white silicone pressure-detecting paste, followed by accurate occlusal adjustment with Kerr Occlusal Indicator Wax to establish stable, balanced posterior contacts on fully seated denture bases which results in fewer denture adjustments after delivery. The course emphasizes the importance of comprehensive patient education and structured follow-up care to support patient adaptation and acceptance of their new restorations and for long-term success.

Educational Objectives:

Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:

• Describe the importance of controlling polymerization shrinkage of acrylic resin during the processing of tissue-supported complete dentures and identify a method to minimize distortion.

• Apply and use a white silicone pressure-detecting paste on the denture base to identify and correct areas of excessive pressure, making adjustments to achieve uniform contact between the denture and its supporting tissues.

• Explain principles and techniques for accurately adjusting occlusion intraorally on tissue-supported complete dentures, and describe why the use of articulating paper or articulating foil provides unreliable results for intraoral occlusal adjustment.

• Apply fundamental clinical steps and principles in practice to increase predictability and overall success in the fabrication of complete dentures.

Full Course in Dentaltown Magazine