Working closely with denture patients for the last ten years; We’ve heard it all!

The dog ate my denture, that happens more often than you think and is pretty much impossible to repair, in any kind of simple way at least. Another popular culprit for a broken denture is bread, many a denture snaps in half chewing on it. Sinks also play a big role, dropping your denture in the sink as you are washing it will most likely cause it to break, or chip a piece of it off. Also sitting on your denture while its in your back pocket will very likely cause it to crack on you, that may have been a pun, I’m not sure…

Besides the dog and the sink excuse, all these scenarios have something in common. One might ask, why would someone carry a denture in their back pocket, that seems preposterous. Or how could bread cause the denture to snap in half? More often than not, the problem is that the denture doesn’t fit in the first place; if its not secure in your mouth, wiggling and shifting as you’re trying to chew something, its likely that at some point a meaningful bite of bread or something harder will snap your denture in half.

There may be many reasons why the denture is fitting poorly, such as it is extremely old and has not been maintained for years, or it could be an immediate denture that has never been relined after the gums have heeled and receded. Many people have a horrible first denture experience and are simply too jaded or terrified to try again. Many times, it can be a lack of funds that prevent regular denture maintenance. What ever the reason may be, a denture that is not fitted properly will cause damage to your mouth and may keep braking over and over even though it has been repaired.

Ready for the good news?

A broken denture can be repaired, seamlessly I might add. The most important thing is to try not to fix it yourself. If possible. If your denture is in 2 or more pieces that perfectly line up together it can be restored with denture acrylic, any professional quality denturist should be able to have it fixed in about an hour. Broken denture teeth can also be replaced.

If you try to fix your denture yourself, typically using super glue or some sort of over the counter repair material you may get lucky. Let’s say everything plays out perfectly and you’re able to position the denture just so, put the right amount of adhesive in the right place and put the whole thing back together. Bingo, you’re back in business! In my experience about 1 out of 20 achieve that result.

Repairing a Denture Yourself could cause More Damage!

More often than not, patients bring in their dentures with glue sipping over the edges, causing discomfort or even pain and altering the denture fit. We have to break the denture apart again, try to remove all the glue and then see if we can get it to line up properly. If this is not possible we have to take a new impression from the mouth, pour the model, and then use that model as the basis for the repair. This adds time and cost to the procedure.

If you don’t feel fully confident fixing the denture yourself I would suggest leaving it to the professionals.

The most important thing to keep your denture from braking is to have a good fitting denture. Take extra care cleaning it, putting a towel in the sink to soften the fall can save you some money. Also, dogs are our friends, but you may want to hide your Dental Prosthetics from them when they are not in use. Most people take their dentures out at night, if you have a pet, that’s the best treat for them, they smell you and the remnants of the food on it and cannot help themselves. Store your dentures in a container where your pets cannot reach them, so they don’t become expensive chew-toys!

Different people may have different reasons for not maintaining or braking their dentures, and different methods of fixing them. If you follow my advice and seek a professional denture maker to help you, that’s your best bet. Otherwise, in case you do attempt to fix it yourself, less is more, practice first.

Bring your broken or cracked Denture in today for a quick, Free Consultation! You Deserve Dentures that fit properly and are pain-free!