Denture Bases
Denture bases are the foundations of your new smile. They are the aspect of your denture that simulates oral tissue and fit over the boney ridges that are left after your teeth are extracted.
Most of today’s bases are made with acrylic. However sixty odd years ago, when my grandfather was practicing in the profession, dentures were made of vulcanized rubber. It was fairly resilient but not overly aesthetic. Prior to that dentures were not truly dentures but rather false teeth being carved and fashioned out of wood and other materials such as ivory for teeth.
Modern denture bases are generally still created using a lost wax process. The base is initially carved and shaped in wax then encased in plaster or stone and melted away. Into this void acrylic is poured, injected or packed and then placed in a specialized oven to bake, usually for eight to ten hours. Once cured, the base is removed from its plaster mold and then it is trimmed and polished.
There are a number of cosmetic adaptations you can have designed in your denture during construction. Here are a few for your consideration:
1. Festooning - is gentle ridges shaped into the acrylic of your denture to simulate the natural roots of your tooth under tissue.
2. Stippling - are tiny dimple like patterns applied over the fascia of the denture to appear like natural pores in tissue.
3. Rugae- is a small washboard like pattern on the palate of your denture, placed there to act like the natural ridges in the roof of your mouth. It is theorized these ridges can assist in phonetics and mastication (chewing).
4. Veined Acrylics - many quality acrylics come with small red fibers that when cured in your denture base have the appearance of tiny veins this also helps remove a denture like appearance.
5. Impact Resistant - are acrylics designed with more resistance against breakage should dentures inadvertently be dropped.
All of these are options you can discuss with your dental professional when having new dentures made. Attention to these finer details is one more way of insuring a healthy natural look, giving you the ability to laugh and smile with confidence.