Denture Repairs
OK, so what do you do when a tooth falls out of your denture or it breaks in half. Teeth that have fallen off can actually be put back in place with superglue in a pinch. The compound in super glue is very similar to the materials that are used to make the denture. First try the tooth back in to make sure you can put it back in the same place. Dry off the area, roughen it with a dremel or sandpaper, and then place a small amount of superglue in the area where the tooth came out. Seat the tooth back down in the EXACT same spot it was before. If you don’t get it exactly back in, it will cause problems with your bite and you may not be able to get it back out. Make sure to clean up the excess superglue before it hardens all the way. If you don’t like the idea of using superglue, you can also purchase inexpensive denture repair kits. They have adhesives that you can use to reattach teeth.
Dentures that have broken in half or have a crack running through them are an entirely different matter and should be evaluated by a dentist as soon as possible. Denture repair kits are really only a temporary solution as the denture will eventually crack again. In some cases you’ll need a whole new set and in other cases it can be repaired.
As a temporary solution there are a couple of different things you can do. Most denture repair kits will tell you to use their adhesive to simply realign the broken sections. While simple, this type of repair is not going to hold up long for most people. To provide some additional strength I recommend taking a small drill bit and making a small hole that you can put a piece of paperclip or other metal rod in. The rod should fit snugly in the hole if possible. Line this hole up exactly with the other side of the denture and make another hole so that the metal piece connects the two denture pieces. Make sure you can realign them exactly again before using the adhesive to bond the denture pieces together.
Once the denture has been bonded back together I’d also recommend doing a soft reline to provide some additional strength. If the denture fits very well to your gum tissue, you may need to grind some material off of the denture surface. If it has been several years since you had the denture made or it just doesn’t fit well, you’ve likely got enough room for the lining material without doing any grinding. We’ve got specific directions on how to do this in our reline section.
If you are able to successfully do both of these things with your denture, you’ve likely bought yourself a decent amount of time to go and get the denture fixed or get a new set made.
August 8, 2017 @ 2:22 am
I like that you included how dentures that have been broken in half or have a crack should be evaluated by a dentist. It was helpful that you mentioned how denture repair kits only act as a temporary solution. My grandmother has used dentures for years. She recently noticed a crack that’s running through her dentures. It could be beneficial for her to seek help to repair her dentures.
August 2, 2017 @ 10:50 pm
Thank you so much for talking about how in order to get permanent solutions when getting denture repairs you need to see a dentist. I can see that doing this can also help you avoid damaging your dentures even more and avoid being uncomfortable when using them. It is important to remember that consulting with your dentist and with your insurance company can help you get quality work and help you save money as you get the best repairs on the type of materials your false teeth are made of.
May 15, 2017 @ 3:13 pm
I had no idea that teeth could be put back in after they have fallen off to repair dentures. However, now that I know that, I think that it would be beneficial to make sure that you keep denture teeth that fall out. That way you wouldn’t have to get a whole new pair of dentures.