Overdentures are an amazing treatment opportunity for patients who have dentures and have trouble keeping their lower prosthesis in place. The implants are placed on the lower arch with the use of a surgical guide. Once the implants have healed and the healing abutments are placed the denture is constructed with a metal mesh to reinforce the acrylic in the lower arch. Once the denture is made and the implants are osseointegrated the Overdentures is modified chair side to allow the patient to snap the denture in and out of place. The following tips are just parts of the overall modification appointment, but they are key steps that will make they process go smoothly. Remember, before starting the procedure make sure that they denture is fully adjusted in the patients mouth and make sure they are conformable.
Tip #1: When you are modifying the wells of your overdenture, dry the denture really well and apply some fit checker. Seat the denture and apply firm even pressure, this will allow you to see where the denture is binding and you can then remove the excess acrylic with denture burs. Ideally, you want 1mm of space around the housing for the GC Pattern Resin Acrylic. You can measure the remaining thickness with a Boley gauge if you are worried that it is too thin. When the denture is too thin it can lead to fracture.
Tip #2: When you are preparing the denture for the application of the GP Pattern Resin – prime the wells where the attachments will go with a microbrush coated in monomer for the GC Pattern Resin. This will clean the surface and allow for maximum bonding. If you apply Vaseline on the intaglio surface a little away from the wells the excess GC Pattern Resin can be easily removed later.
Tip #3: When you apply the resin, make sure that you seat the denture when it is no longer glossy- this is the perfect time. While it is in the patients mouth use a suction and water to prevent it heating up! Next you can remove any flash with a spoon excavator and then fill in any gaps and make it super smooth by brush beading with GP Pattern Resin.
Are you modifying an overdenture soon? We hope these quick tips were helpful! Special thanks to Jessica Sung for her keen eye for detail and sequencing. If you would like a copy of the full guide we created please feel free to email [email protected] and we can send you the information.
~Erinne Kennedy, Nova Southeastern ’15, contributing editor
