Complete Denture
Processing
By
Dr. Mohamed Said (BDS, MPhiL, PhD)
[Link]
te-dentures/denture-processing/
• The objective of denture processing is to duplicate the trial dentures
into a hardened polished plastic material (resin material)
• This is done using dental flask
• Before processing:
ü Bases must be sealed to casts around entire border
ü Soaking master casts and the mountings in water for few minutes
ü Remove the casts from the mounting
Bases must be sealed
to casts around entire
border
[Link]
STEPS IN PROCESSING
• Flasking
• Boil out
• Packing
• Curing
• De-flasking
• Lab remount
• De-casting
• Finishing and
polishing
1. Flasking
• Is the procedure of investing the festooned wax denture in a dental flask to
make a mold, into which the denture base resin is inserted and cured.
• This is done in three pours:
ü 1st pour is to secure the cast to the base of the flask
ü 2nd pour is a stone poured to the occlusal surface of the teeth
ü 3rd pour is to fill the rest of the mold with slight excess
E-human: Complete denture
• Three pieces flask is used to facilitate
removal of denture after processing
without danger of breaking the denture
ü Drag (bottom)
ü Cope (middle)
ü Cap (thin top of the flask)
Dental Flask
• Master cast and the wax denture fit easily in the bottom half of
the flask (clearance)
• Adjusted if necessary but mounting notches may be lost!
E-human :Complete denture
1st Pour
• The inside of the flask is coated with Vaseline
• The cast is painted with plaster separating medium
E-human :Complete denture
1st Pour
• The flask half is filled with plaster investment and the model is
embedded up to its land
No undercuts
E-human :Complete denture
E-human :Complete denture
The cast is checked for clearance with the flask top
E-human :Complete denture
Yellow Stone is painted on the teeth to
prevent tooth movement
E-human :Complete denture
2nd Pour
The mold is filled with yellow The occlusal surfaces are
stone wiped clean
E-human :Complete denture
3rd Pour
Plaster is used to fill the mold and the cover
is seated against the soft plaster.
Plaster extrusion ensures positive pressure.
E-human :Complete denture
2. Boiling out
• After complete setting of stone,
the flask is placed into boiling
water for 5 minutes
• Flask open between the two
halves of the flask after cooling
• Remove the waxed denture
base from the mold and the
remaining wax with hot water
• All teeth remain in the top half
E-human :Complete denture
E-human :Complete denture
• Allow the flask to cool to room
temperature
• A separating agent is painted on
the exposed stone surface to
prevent acrylic from sticking to
stone
• Avoid coating the denture teeth
E-human :Complete denture
3. Packing acrylic resin
• Acrylic resin (Methylmethacrylate) as denture base material:
ü Heat cure acrylic
ü Self cure acrylic
ü Light cure acrylic
• Packing techniques:
ü Injection molding technique
ü Compression molding technique
SR Ivocap System
[Link]
Compression molding technique
• The acrylic is placed in mold when
it reaches a doughy stage
• The material is packed with clean
hands in the upper half of the
flask
• Place plastic sheet over the resin,
then lower half of the flask is
placed in position and pressed by
hand then placed in bench press
• Pressure and Acrylic extrusion
ensures adequate flow to all
areas of cast, REPEAT !!!
E-human :Complete denture
E-human :Complete denture
4. Curing acrylic resin
• Is the conversion of monomer to polymer
when a mixture is subjected to heat
• Slow processing: Dentures are cured at
70° for 9 hours in a curing tank
• Rapid processing: Dentures are cured at
70° for 1.5 h then boil for 30 mins
E-human :Complete denture
5. Deflasking
• After the dentures are
cured the flasks must cool
slowly to room
temperature
• Deflask using flask ejector
or hammer
• Make cuts with saw,
insert a knife and carefully
separate the sections of
stone
E-human :Complete denture
E-human :Complete denture
6. Remounting
a. Laboratory remount
• Processed dentures on the casts are
reattached to the plaster mountings of
the articulator
• The changes that occurred in the
processing of the acrylic resin have
caused errors in the occlusion
• Occlusal error up to ¾ mm is acceptable
and can be corrected
• Selective grinding until incisal pin
touches incisal table again
E-human :Complete denture
[Link]
b. Clinical remount
• Occlusal errors may be removed by making corrections
while the dentures are in the patients mouth or by making
new maxillo-mandibular relation records and replacing the
denture on an articulator
7. De-casting
• Casts are strategically cut away from the dentures to prevent
their fracture
E-human :Complete denture
8. Finishing and Polishing
• The feather edges of the denture base are removed
• Be careful to remove excess resin beyond the land
• Preserve border width and contour
• Care is taken not to cut acrylic resin teeth
• The surface is shaped until it is smooth and clean with burs and
stones
• Use wet rag wheel with wet pumice to polish the denture
• Examine the tissue side of the denture and remove any bubbles.
E-human :Complete denture
Troubleshooting (Processing errors)
1. Porosity
Rapid rise of temperature in the initial stage of curing
Lack of dough in the mold (sticky stage)
Lack of adequate pressure during polymerization
2. Tooth movements
Use of plaster instead of stone
Incomplete flask closure
Excessive pressure during closure
Over packing
Troubleshooting (Processing errors)
3. Denture base and teeth fracture
Careless deflasking
Lack of dough (rubbery stage)
Excessive pressure during closure
4. Bleaching of resin
Contamination of acrylic resin (with solvents, separating medium)
Under cured resin due to incorrect time and temp. of curing
Troubleshooting (Processing errors)
5. Color streaks in resin material
Improper mixing of monomer and polymer
Contamination of resin with dirt
Adding resin in layers
6. Sandy appearance of resin
Too much delay in curing after packing
Evaporation of monomer
Insufficient monomer
Troubleshooting (Processing errors)
7. Stone adhere to denture
Insufficient separating medium on the mold before packing
Separating medium contaminated with stone
Incomplete wax elimination
8. Space between teeth and resin
Too much delay in curing after packing
Application of separating medium on the teeth
