When you have complete dentures, they should fit snugly when they are new. However, your jawbone, when you have no teeth, will continue to shrink over time and the dentures will become loose. This is why every few years you will need to have a denture reline.
There are adverse health effects of a loose denture. If they go for too long without proper care, the soft tissue begins to overgrow in folds under the denture and around the rim. There are cases where surgery may be required to to remove this excess tissue. Sometimes, however, the tissue overgrowth can be healed easily with tissue conditioner treatments from your dentist.
There are various types of denture relines available. They can be done in the office or sent to a dental laboratory. They can be either hard or soft. The advantage of the in-office treatment is that you don’t have to be without your teeth for the day or two that would be required of laboratory processing. In-office reline materials have improved somewhat over recent years. Light-cured materials have been developed that are more durable and longer-lasting than the old chemical-cure materials.
And soft denture relines are more comfortable than hard ones, though they are more expensive and less durable. Click the link to read our page on that subject, to learn more about their pros and cons.
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This content was written by Dr. David Hall.
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