P re-prosthetic surgery
Once you and your dentist have concluded that complete or partial dentures are in your best interest, it may be necessary to remove or adjust anatomy to allow the denture to fit.
Though we'll discuss the options at your consultation, most of these procedures can be undertaken under local anesthesia or sedation.
The procedure that is recommended is important to get done for a number of reasons:
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In order to have your denture fit correctly (or at all);
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To prevent trauma and pain to the oral tissue while the denture is being worn;
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To keep the denture from being inappropriately dislodged during speaking or eating.
The following are examples of anatomy that may need treatment for dentures:
Frenulum: These are small tissue attachments that when the facial muscles around them may result in the dislodging of the denture. Obviously this can be embarrassing if you''re talking or eating.
Maxillary labial frenulum
Bony exostoses or tori: These are outgrowths of bone along the alveolar ridge (dental arches). Their presence can preclude a denture sitting due to undercuts. They can also be repeatedly irritated and traumatized during denture wear. Removing them is relatively straight-forward.
Left to right: Maxillary midpalatal torus; mandibular exostoses; mandibular lingual tori
Epulis: These are tissue excess areas that are usually the result of wearing an ill-fitting denture. First, we remove or relieve the denture and this will reduce the size of the epulis. The remainder is removed with a minor procedure.
Epulis fissuratum