Loose Denture? A Denture Reline Can Help!
Denture relines increase stability & decrease sore spots. They reline your denture to match your gums more precisely. A reline can help a loose denture fit like new again. Depending on when your teeth were extracted, you may benefit most from a hard reline denture or a soft reline comfort liner. At Precision, we offer same day service for both types of relines. The first step is a FREE denture consultation.
Keep reading to learn more about soft liners for dentures, hard relines and the scoop on DIY denture reline kits.
Why did my denture get loose? How can a reline help?
Denture get loose because of bone loss. When you lose your natural teeth, jaw bone slowly shrinks. As the bone shrinks, so do the gums and soft tissues that cover the bone. This creates small air gaps between your gums and the denture surface. A denture needs to fit the gums tightly with no gaps to create the suction it needs to be stable. Those air gaps make a denture loose and sore. How uncomfortable!
Improving the fit requires filling the air gaps! You can do that by relining the surface of the denture to fit the gums tightly again.
Video: See how we do a soft denture reline
We do soft relines same day at our dentist’s office. The process typically takes less than 30 minutes and gives you a soft, refitted lining to your existing dentures. A soft reline procedure begins with removing the old liner. After applying anti-stick to the outside of the denture, we fill the denture with high quality reline material. Using this, we take an “impression” of the gums with the reline material. After 5 minutes, the denture gets rinsed and then held in the mouth until firm.
We then clean up any extra material. The result is a denture that custom fits the gums and is lined with a comfort gel.
Hard Reline Denture vs Soft Reline Denture
Hard Denture Reline: Making Dentures Fit Like New
A poorly fitting denture either needs to be relined OR replaced entirely. If the denture is worn, old or has other problems, replacement makes sense. Otherwise, a reline remodels the fit and costs less.
Both types of relines, hard and soft, improve fit. Which is right for you?
However, they work best for specific types of patients. New denture wearers in the healing phase typically need a soft reline done in the dental office. Established denture wearers benefit from a hard reline that is started in the office and finished at a dental lab.
How do we hard reline your denture?
We will drill out the lining of the denture and use it to take a new “impression” of your gums. This gets sent to the dental laboratory. At the lab the dental technician will replace the impression material with new chemically bonded acrylic material. The resurfaced denture will feel as comfortable as a new one and the inside will look brand new as well!
Hard Reline Steps:
Soft Denture Reline: Like Memory-Foam for Your Mouth
Soft relines, also called Chairside or In-office relines, are a soft liner for the denture base. Like the name suggests, these are made from a soft liner material and are done in the dental office, usually at the same time as your consultation. No need to send your existing denture to a laboratory. No need for returning visits to the dental office to finish the process. However, soft reline dentures are temporary because the soft liner for dentures lasts 6-8 weeks. When the soft liner gets old, it becomes hard and ill fitting again and needs to be replaced.
Why would someone want a temporary reline?
A soft reline is very gentle on the gums and particularly helpful during the healing period of dental care after extractions phase. Our goal is to make wearing dentures as comfortable as possible.
Denture Reline Kits: At Home vs. Professional Relines
At the pharmacy, you’ll find DIY denture reline kits. Why pay more money and go to a dentist’s office when you could do it yourself? Great question.
There are three major differences between DIY “Perma Soft” type kits you find at the pharmacy and professional relines done by a dentist.
- First, a dentist has high quality, professional grade materials. Professional reline procedures use prescription materials and can be permanent. Denture reline kits use nail salon grade materials that are more like our temporary materials.
- Second, a dentist has the equipment needed to adequately remove the old liner and precisely trim and polish the new one. The lack of equipment tends to make DIY relines messy and imprecise.
- Finally, a dentist and his technicians have the training to know which parts of the process matter. They know what each step is supposed to look like, which mistakes cause complications and what is necessary for a proper fit.
Check out our review of an at-home denture reline kit!
24-Hour Denture Reline Services
The most common denture reline and maintenance services we perform for our patients are:
- Denture Hard Reline: Permanent resurfacing the denture gives a brand new fit that will be comfortable until the gums change again. This usually will last several years.
- Denture Soft Reline: Temporary resurfacing the denture makes it comfortable immediately. This service is completed in-office. This new surface material usually lasts 6-8 weeks and it will need to be redone again.
- Denture Rebase: Replacing the entire pink portion of the denture will provide a new shape and foundation for the denture. Fresh start, fresh fit. This service usually will last many years, much like the Denture Hard Reline.
- Denture Repairs: Connecting the broken pieces of the denture, giving it additional service.
- Teeth Replacement: When a denture tooth goes missing or gets broken, a new tooth (or the old tooth) can be added back on.
- Partial Denture Framework Services: Most common service is adding a broken clasp back to the partial denture framework. This is done removely in a dental laboratory and takes 1-3 days.
- Clasp Adjustments: Some loose fitting partial dentures can be made comfortable again with a quick in-office adjustment of the clasps.
We perform most of these services with the help of a dental technician located offsite at a professional dental laboratory facility. Most of these services have a Turn Around Time of 24 hours. Some cases will require additional time.
Denture Consultation is the first step you should take if you suspect you need Denture Reline Services
If you can repair the denture yourself, this option will be the most cost effective option. However, if you prefer to your your denture relined or repaired with the best outcome possible, consider the services of a clinic such as ours. Begin by scheduling a consultation. It is very easy to schedule a consultation on our website. Simply click the Online Booking button. Or you can call us and we’ll help you schedule a consultation over the phone.
During your consultation visit, most patients want to know the answers to these questions:
- Can the denture be repaired?
- What specific service would I recommend (reline, rebase, rebond, remake, etc.?)
- What is the cost of such service?
- How soon can you have your denture back?
- How long would the repair last?
- What other alternatives exist and what are their risks and benefits for your oral health?
HERE are the 5 signs that you need a new denture!
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Whether you have teeth or not, you deserve a smile you can be proud of!
A beautiful smile changes how you look. It also changes how you live. Imagine laughing and eating freely with friends again! If you want to smile with confidence, we can help. Take the first step today. Schedule your consultation!