How Do Dental Labs Make Partial Dentures?
You can partner with a dental lab to fabricate high-quality prosthetics for your clients. Labs have experienced technicians and fully-equipped facilities licensed to make partial dentures, crowns, bridges, custom abutments, and other dental appliances. They make all prosthetics using instructions you provide, which include impressions of your client’s mouth. Here’s more information on how labs make partial dentures:
Dental Impressions
Impressions are traditionally taken using a moldable material that the client bites down on. You can also use computer-aided design and manufacturing, which involves digital scanners and cameras. The impressions capture your client’s mouth, teeth, gums, bite alignment, and other oral structures.
All files are then sent to a dental lab, where they are used to create a working model of your client’s mouth. The models are replicas that offer accurate references for fabricating the partial denture. They can be made from stone or 3D-printed materials. Consult the lab for insights on how to take accurate impressions and use the Rx files to include any additional information about the client and denture.
Material Selection
Partial dentures feature biocompatible materials with unique physical and aesthetic properties, which can match your client’s needs. Thermoplastic nylon is often chosen for its translucency and different tissue shades. The material allows your client’s natural gum and tissue tones to show through the partial material. Partial dentures may feature metal frameworks like titanium and vitallium, and some may have an acrylic base. Some dentures have cobalt-chromium frameworks and flexible resins or nylon-like materials. You can choose the material or consult the lab to help determine the suitable choice for your client.
Framework Design
Labs design and fabricate the metal frameworks and bases of partial dentures before making the artificial teeth. The denture framework design determines where clasps grip existing teeth and how the base sits on the soft mouth tissues. Once the design is completed, lab technicians fabricate the framework using various methods depending on the material used. For metal frameworks like cobalt-chromium, labs use the lost-wax technique. This technique involves shaping wax into the desired form using the working model and encasing it in a mold. Heat is then applied to the mold to remove the wax, leaving a cavity filled with molten metal.
Denture Fabrication
Once the framework is crafted, lab technicians fabricate the artificial teeth and carefully position and fix them. The acrylic base is applied to hold the teeth in place. Partial dentures are designed to replace one or more missing teeth. Dentures that replace one tooth are sometimes known as flippers and use traction to grip onto existing teeth. Partials that replace several teeth may require metal clasps.
After fabrication, the denture is presented to you for approval, which usually involves a wax try-in. The try-in version allows your patient to check comfort, fit, and aesthetics before the lab fabricates the final denture. If approved, the lab permanently attaches the artificial teeth to the base by replacing the wax with acrylic resin through heat curing.
Final Adjustments
The finished denture still requires polishing and other adjustments to achieve a natural, aesthetic look. Lab technicians trim and smooth the rough spots and fine-tune the clasps to achieve gentle, secure attachment to existing teeth. The lab conducts a final inspection for accuracy and function before sending the denture to your office for the final fitting. You can also make minor adjustments at your office to enhance comfort and fit. The final denture should fit without issues if the client’s oral anatomy hasn’t changed between the try-in and final delivery.
Speak to a Dental Lab Today
Laboratories use digital technologies like CAD and CAM to achieve precise fabrication of dentures and other prosthetics. To make high-quality dentures that fit comfortably, labs need accurate impressions from your office. Contact a dental lab today to find out more about their process and services.
