After living with gaps in your smile, receiving your dentures and having a complete and functional grin again can feel like a life-changing experience. They help you eat, speak, and complete daily tasks that are important to your livelihood and health, which is why whenever they break or become damaged, it’s considered a dental emergency. Read on to learn how dentures can become damaged and what your emergency dentist can do to remedy the situation.
Common Reasons Why Dentures Break
Dentures are made from acrylic and ceramic, and with everyday use, they may be in multiple situations where they’re at risk of breaking, cracking, or fracturing. One of the most common ways that dentures become damaged is when they’re being cleaned. If they’re wet and placed on a slick countertop, they can easily fall to the ground. That’s why it’s recommended that you place them onto a clean towel or washcloth after cleaning them.
Another cause of dentures breaking is when they no longer properly fit your mouth, causing them to move around when you eat or speak. Because they aren’t stable, it can cause stress and pressure in certain areas, resulting in them cracking or breaking. In any case, damaged dentures can increase your risk in developing oral health problems as well as drastically impact your day-to-day life by making eating and speaking harder.
What Should You Do if Your Dentures Break?
If your dentures are broken, it’s important that you don’t try to repair them yourself. Although it may be tempting to superglue them back together, this will likely result in more problems since they won’t properly fit your mouth. Instead, immediately call your emergency dentist to make an appointment for as soon as possible.
Getting Professional Help from Your Emergency Dentist
When you arrive at your emergency dentist’s office, they’ll examine your dentures and determine the extent of the damage. Based on their findings, they may be able to repair them for you, or they could need to be replaced. In most cases, repairable dentures can be fixed during the visit in the office, but in cases where the damage is extent, they may need to be sent back to the dental laboratory. Your emergency dentist will discuss your options with you as well as price estimates before moving forward with a treatment method.
If you have a broken or damaged denture, don’t wait to call your emergency dentist, because that could lead to even more problems. Instead, have them repaired so you can use them with peace-of-mind, knowing that they fit and function properly.
About the Author
Dr. Megan Snyder has been practicing dentistry for over a decade and is passionate about helping her patients through stressful emergency situations. She’s proud to offer same-day emergency appointments and works quickly and efficiently to address her patients’ problems so they no longer have to fret about them. If you are experiencing a dental emergency, like a toothache or broken denture or crown, please visit North Garland Family Dental’s website or call 972-530-7979.
