Use of soft wax and pour-type denture base resin to augment lip support for a removable prosthesis

Abstract

aAssociate Professor, Division of Removable Prosthodontics, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, Fukuoka Dental College. bChief, Central Dental Laboratory, Fukuoka Dental College Medical and Dental Hospital. cProfessor, Division of Removable Prosthodontics, Department of Oral Rehabilitation, Fukuoka Dental College. (J Prosthet Dent 2008;100:242-243) The placement of removable prostheses to replace anterior missing teeth affects the soft tissue and facial profile. A maxillary denture produces a more noticeable change than does a mandibular denture.1 Patients who are completely edentulous or partially edentulous in the anterior region may be concerned about their facial appearance and may desire to alter their protheses to increase the degree of lip support. In such situations, autopolymerizing acrylic resin has been used, primarily due to its easy handling. However, porosities form in this type of acrylic resin, resulting in poor esthetics such as discoloration or staining.2 The chairside and laboratory procedures for augmenting lip support provided by a removable prosthesis using soft wax and autopolymerizing pour-type denture base resin are described. The occurrence of air bubbles can be avoided by polymerizing the resin in a pressure-polymerizing unit. The advantages of this technique are that almost no air bubbles are formed and the esthetic result is good. The disadvantages of this technique are that it requires a somewhat more complicated procedure and it takes a longer time to complete compared to the use of autopolymerizing acrylic repair resin. A contraindication for the use of this technique is when the situation requires rearrangement of the anterior artificial teeth to augment lip support.