Essentials of a sound complete denture technique

Abstract

A sound complete denture technique that is suitable for general practitioners has been described. It is practical as well as scientific, built on sound principles and with no weak links in the necessary chain of steps in the technique. The essential steps are: 1. Good impressions are made with accurate Usable functional borders. This is not a place to hurry or use shortcuts. Extra time and effort applied to making the impressions will be saved later in adjustments and will be repaid many times over in patient comfort. 2. Accurately fitting stabilized bases are used. No jaw relation record, no matter how accurately recorded, is ever any better than the base upon which it is made. 3. An accurate centric relation record is made with an equalized distribution of occlusal forces. Most dentists can do this best by using some type of central bearing needle-point tracing device. 4. The processed dentures are remounted in their original positions on the articulator for the correction of the occlusion before the dentures are removed from their casts. By this means, the accurate jaw relations so carefully recorded are incorporated into the finished dentures. 5. The patient is given conscientious, skillful, and adequate insertion and post-insertion denture adjustments, and sympathetic and psychologic encouragement until he has mastered the dentures. Prosthodontics is hard exacting work, but the result of sincere effort pays for itself many times over in patient satisfaction, and in personal pride and enjoyment in having done a difficult job to the best of ones' ability, thereby making life more pleasant for someone who has come to us in need of help.