Dentures break in a handful of predictable ways. A tooth comes away from the base, a wire clasp on a partial denture snaps, or the pink plate cracks, often straight down the middle of an upper denture. Most of these can be repaired, and a straightforward repair is often finished quickly. What makes a repair harder is glue applied at home.
In practice that means: take the denture out, keep every piece, leave the glue in the drawer and arrange a repair with a dentist or dental prosthetist.
In the first hour
- Take the denture out of your mouth so a loose piece cannot be swallowed or breathed in.
- Collect all the fragments, including small chips and any tooth that has come off. They help the technician line the pieces up.
- Rinse the pieces gently and put them in a labelled container or a zip-lock bag. An acrylic denture is best kept moist, so a damp paper towel in the container helps.
- Check your mouth. If a sharp edge has cut your gum or cheek, rinse with warm salty water and keep the denture out.
- Phone a dental practice and describe the break. If you have a spare or older denture that still fits reasonably, you can wear it in the meantime.
Different breaks, different repairs
A tooth has come off
This is one of the simpler repairs. If you still have the tooth, it can often be bonded back into place with dental acrylic. If it is lost, a matching replacement tooth can be set in.
The plate has cracked or split
A clean break with all the pieces is usually rejoined with acrylic and reinforced along the line. The repair is checked against your mouth or a model so the fit is not thrown out.
A clasp or wire has snapped
Clasps on partial dentures can wear and fatigue over time. A new clasp can usually be added. Partials with a metal framework may need more lab work, depending on where the break is.
A small chip or rough edge
If the denture still fits and is comfortable, a chip may only need smoothing and building up. Do not file or sand it yourself, because it is easy to change how it sits on the gums.
Why glue usually makes things worse
Household and super glues are not designed to be used in the mouth, and some can irritate the gums. They are also brittle and tend to fail again quickly in a warm, wet mouth under chewing forces.
The bigger problem is alignment. A very small shift between the two halves when the glue sets changes how the denture sits, which can create pressure points and sore spots. When the denture comes in for repair, the technician then has to remove the glue and may not be able to rejoin the surfaces cleanly. A repair that would have been simple can become a remake. Chemist repair kits share some of the same problems and do not address why the denture broke.
A denture that keeps breaking is telling you something
A denture dropped on a tiled floor may simply have a clean fracture. A denture that cracks in the same place again and again is a different story. The gums and the bone under them change shape over the years, and as they shrink, the denture stops resting evenly. It then flexes slightly with every bite, and the acrylic eventually fatigues and splits.
Other contributors include grinding or clenching, very hard foods, a heavy bite from natural lower teeth against an upper denture, and simple age. Repairing the crack without dealing with the fit often leads to another break.
Repair, reline or a new denture
A single clean break in a denture that otherwise fits well usually just needs a repair. If the denture has felt loose for a while, rocks when you chew, or has broken before, a reline may be suggested. That reshapes the fitting surface to match your gums as they are now. If the teeth are badly worn or the denture is many years old, a new one may be better value in the long run. Our guide to relines and new dentures sets out the differences, and denture costs are covered separately.
For people whose dentures repeatedly move or break, implants can be used to hold a denture more firmly. Our comparison of implants, bridges and dentures explains the options.
Is it an emergency?
A broken denture is rarely a medical emergency, though it can be very disruptive if it is your only set. Soft foods help in the meantime, and it is better to leave the denture out than to wear a sharp or loose piece. If a fragment may have been swallowed or breathed in and you have coughing, chest pain or trouble swallowing, seek medical care straight away. See a dentist promptly if a cut in your mouth is not healing or you cannot eat. Our dental emergency guide covers other urgent problems, and the article on denture sore spots helps if a repaired denture rubs.
If your denture has broken or is starting to feel loose, our dentists at Lumi Dental can check the fit, arrange the repair and talk through whether a reline or new denture would serve you better. Book a general dental visit in Melrose Park or see the current offers.
This article is general information and not a substitute for an individual dental assessment.
