DENTAL CARE

Q: How Long Does It Take To Make A Denture? A: This question is one that patients frequently ask me. I have addressed this in the past. In those columns, I discuss the meticulous care that I put into a conventional denture. Multiple impressions are part of a four to six visit appointment sequence to create a handcrafted denture. After we get everything looking the way we want, followed by patient approval, I deliver the dentures to the patient. A process of adjustment and fine-tuning then follows the denture completion. Some times this is one or two visits. Other times it takes several meetings until we attain our goal. I have tried many times to speed up the process while at the same time maintaining a high level of quality. If I was fortunate, I saved an appointment. However, this was not predictable. Even with these techniques, the adjustments appointments were still there. In 2020, that is all about to change.

It was just a couple of weeks ago that I wrote a column in which I introduced new that would take pictures and digital impressions for crowns and implants with speed and ease. Accuracy is excellent, and the fits are unsurpassed. My lab loves it, and my patients are duly impressed. Following that article, I received a phone call from a lady who wanted a new denture. She loved her existing denture but as time goes on, dentures wear and run the risk of breaking. It was time for a new one before she got herself behind the eightball. She wanted to know if I could copy the fit of her denture with my new technology. In other words, would my digital impression scan help her?

As we all know, in life timing is everything, and I did not know the answer to her question. No one had tried this before with any success. Dentures are different from natural teeth, and digital impressions with a scanner in a dental office are not a predictable technique. I called my lab and they just received an upgrade to their digital equipment. They told me that dentures could be part of the total digital world but no one had tried it yet. I jumped at the opportunity to be one of the first, if not the first, to venture down this exciting path. The patient came in and we discussed what she wanted. I spent a great deal of time until I established a simple and repeatable technique to copy all the positive points of her denture and even better, improve on what was there. The methodology was simple and I completed it in one short appointment. Of course, I did not know if the result would be positive or be another digital dream that overpromises and underdelivers. Today was the day that I would find out the answer to this question. The lab sent a representative to deliver the product and act as a support person. My patient put the denture in her mouth and her eyes lit up. The fit was perfect and the looks were great. Because we used her old denture, whose fit she enjoyed, it felt like her old denture. It was perfect. There was no break-in period. This innovation which I pioneered, will open up many opportunities for my patients. Now I have a straightforward twoappointment procedure to make an ideal denture and possibly bypass all the adjustments that are part of a conventional technique. Best of all, it is a fraction of the price of another quality denture. If this sounds like it would help you, please call Megan at 440.951.7856 to set up a time to meet and show you how wonderful this can be for you.

Jeffrey Gross, DDS, FAGD is an Ohio licensed general dentist and is on the staff of Case Western Reserve School of Dental Medicine. The Healthy Smile 34586 Lakeshore Boulevard (¼ mile west of Route 91 on Lakeshore Blvd) Eastlake, Ohio 44095 440-951-7856 Severance Medical Arts, Suite 603 5 Severance Center Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118 216-371-2333 www.jeffreygrossdds.com