Complete Denture Preparation 

1st appointment: preliminary impression

  1. History: hypertension, diabetes
  2. Evaluate ridges
  3. Take pan
  4. Take upper and lower alginate impression using stock trays
  5. The base of stock trays for complete dentures is rounded, whereas that of regular trays is square.  The base of trays for partials may be combined.
  6. Check patient’s mouth for size.  Get trays (two sizes) from lab and try in them.  If there are models, try trays on the models
  7. Take impression if doctor is busy
  8. Pour model with yellow stone: x2 for working arch, x1 for opposing arch
  9. Make base base plate and occlusal rim for bite registration next appointment.  Base plate and occlusal rim represents missing teeth
  10. Ask patient not to use denture adhesive on the day of final impression

2nd appointment: final impression with PVS and sometimes bite registration

  1. What type of gloves should we wear?
  2. Apply PVS adhesive over custom tray: inner surface and 1-2 mm over border
  3. Ask patient to rinse mouth preferably with warm water to remove sticky saliva
  4. Prepare medium (monophase) body for border moldering with tube and light body for lining without loading tube or tip.  Apply medium body over the border first, then shift tube from medium body gun to light body, and apply light body over tissue surface
  5. Pour 2 sets of models
  6. Try in base plate and occlusal rim
  7. Prepare Bensen-burner from lab and pink wax in case we need to add more wax on occlusal rim and also prepare wax spatula in case we need to take away wax from occlusal rim.  Also we need Fox occlusal plate, acrylic bur, denture adhesive (Fixodent) and bite registration
  8. Check occlusal height (ruler), plane, mark midline and mouth corner with spatula
  9. Cut grooves in occlusal rim for bite registration after adjustment of occlusal height
  10. Choose shade, ask doctor for which lab sheet we should use (usually Bayshore or called New Image Creation, or DDS lab), fill out basic information
  11. Wipe out marks on patient’s face with wet napkin or alcohol

3rd appointment: try in wax set-up

  1. Get the case from lab
  2. Mouth mirror
  3. Horse-shoe articulating paper, acrylic bur
  4. Bite registration if needed
  5. If the doctor is busy, remove denture in wax from model and let patient try in. “Please bite gently”.  Ask patient how he or she feels in bite, and speaking. After a little while, remove the denture from mouth shortly and place it in tray.  Otherwise, the wax will melt and denture teeth may come out and loose
  6. Let the patient evaluate shape and shade of denture teeth and gums
  7. Fill out prescription

4th appointment: Denture try in

  1. If doctor is busy, insert the final denture
  2. Occasionally, we need horse-shoed articulating paper, acrylic bur, PIP/q-tip, and Thompson’s marker
  3. Return Assistant Page

Xin Wei, DDS, PhD, MS 1st edition 05/19/2011, last revision 06/01/2011