Frequently Asked Questions

A Dental Prosthetist is a highly qualified and skilled member of the dental profession who constructs, fits and provides a complete and professional denture care service. 

By direct consultation, your Dental Prosthetist will construct and fit dentures or sporting mouthguards. They will maintain, repair and reline dentures as required by the patient, or referring practitioner. Your Dental Prosthetist will personally consult, advise and assist patients in all relevant aspects of their treatment, and where necessary provide referrals.

Yes — because a consultation with a Dental Prosthetist means you deal directly with the practitioner who will personally construct your dentures.

You may attend a Dental prosthetist of your choice by direct consultation. A referral is not necessary or needed.

You should make an appointment if your present dentures are in excess of 5 years old, if they show excessive wear, or are ill fitting and cause discomfort. You should also consult a Dental Prosthetist if you consider your facial features are lacking support. 

Patients with private health insurance who have the appropriate benefits cover may claim generous rebates on fees paid to Dental Prosthetists. Dental Prosthetists are also registered and licensed providers for patients coming under the Administration of The Veterans Affairs Department and the State Denture Scheme. 

Let’s explain what an immediate denture is by using an example. Suppose, for instance, that you have eight (8) remaining upper teeth. These teeth are, unfortunately, poor and cannot be used in any way to support a new denture. If you were to have a traditional denture made, it would be necessary to have all of these teeth extracted first, the bone and gums would have to heal and then a denture could be made. This process could take several months, if not longer, and for that time period you would have to go around without any teeth. As an alternative to having you go around toothless while the gums heal, we utilize an Immediate Denture technique.

This involves taking impressions of your mouth while your teeth are still present. Models of your mouth are then produced. Your DP can then do simulated extractions on the models and place the denture teeth as close as you require to your natural setting and correct many things about tooth position that you may not be happy with at present. When your teeth are extracted, your new denture is ready to be inserted by your dentist. In this way, you never have to walk around without teeth.

Since your DP’s goal is for you never to be without teeth, your dentist will be inserting your new denture immediately after the extraction of your remaining teeth. This may seem odd, but it is perfectly normal. Typically, after the extraction of teeth, there may be some swelling. By placing your denture in immediately, this swelling can be kept to a minimum. If you did not place the denture immediately, the swelling that occurs might not allow you to wear your denture until the swelling subsided.

It is very important that you follow the post-operative instructions of your dentist and dental prosthetist very carefully. Your follow up appointment is very important. You must wear your new immediate denture for three (3) days or such time as your dentist instructs you, after the surgery, without removing it. This will help to control the swelling and bleeding.

You must follow the oral hygiene instructions provided by your dentist and dental prosthetist. This will usually include frequent rinsing of the mouth with salty water. This helps control harmful bacteria thereby encouraging healing of the gums. In order to compensate for the rapid changes that occur during healing, a temporary denture lining may be used to adapt the fit surface of the denture to the present size and shape of the supportive tissues. The duration of the effectiveness of the lining depends upon when the lining is done and the degree of shrinkage in your mouth. Your DP will advise you of the fee for this service.

There may be other adjustments to the denture that are necessary to help keep them comfortable during the healing period. You should consult your dental prosthetist if you are experiencing soreness. Experience shows that soreness is the greatest handicap to denture comfort and tolerance.

Once healing has occurred, after 4 to 6 months, you will either need a reline of your immediate denture or the fabrication of an entirely new denture. If a new one is to be made, we will then be able to make any aesthetic and phonetic changes that you want within the limits of denture prosthodontics. If a new denture is to be made, you will then be able to use the immediate denture as a spare (emergency) denture. This can sure come in handy if your new denture should break and need to be repaired. Failure to reline an immediate denture may allow hyperplasic tissue to grow into the denture.

The general lifespan of dentures is expected to be approximately 8-10 years.

Remove your denture and clean twice a day and after eating when necessary. Do not clean your dentures with toothpaste and don’t scrub too hard. We recommend you use a soaking solution for your dentures and brush these only as necessary with a denture toothbrush and denture toothpaste.

It is important to avoid using any type of bleaching products or abrasives, ammonia based cleansers or very hot water when cleaning your dentures.

If you have a metal denture, discuss cleaning options with your Dental Prosthetist.

It is important to have a yearly check up and review of your mouth and dentures.

We recommend removing your dentures twice a day to allow massaging of the gums to encourage blood flow to that tissue.

If you do remove your dentures overnight we suggest that you leave them in a glass of water to prevent any issues such as warping or cracking.

Bruxism is the correct technical term for what many refer to as grinding or clenching or even gnashing of teeth, sometimes resulting in severe facial pain.

Such patients, referred to as “Bruxers” bite too hard at inappropriate times, such as when sleeping or driving or when working in a job that has a repetitive nature about it, and may also bite their finger nails, chew pencils or other objects.

People who wear dentures are no different they wear their teeth out prematurely and place excessive pressure on the tissue causing it to resorb at a greater rate.

The teeth of the bruxer appear flat and worn. Pain in the jaw-or TMJ (Temporo-Mandibular Joint) which may manifest as clicking or popping of the jaw.

Your Dental Prosthetist can check for physical signs of bruxism.

All persons who are engaged in sporting activities where injury to natural teeth is a possibility can minimise the risk by the wearing of a mouthguard which should be professionally constructed and fitted by a Dental Prosthetist.