A denture is a removable appliance designed to replace missing teeth and surrounding gum tissue, restoring a person’s ability to eat and speak. Experiencing a broken denture is stressful, but most damage can be successfully fixed by a dental professional. Repairability depends entirely on the nature and severity of the structural damage, requiring prompt professional assessment.
Types of Denture Damage That Can Be Repaired
Many common forms of damage are minor to moderate and highly repairable. A frequent issue is a simple fracture or hairline crack in the pink acrylic base, often caused by dropping the appliance. If the pieces can be accurately realigned without distortion, a laboratory can fuse them back together using specialized acrylic resins.
Damage to the artificial teeth can also be corrected without replacing the entire denture. A fractured, chipped, or missing tooth can be replaced or reattached to the existing base. This requires a dental lab to mechanically bond a new prosthetic tooth into the original acrylic material.
For partial dentures, the metal or acrylic clasps that hold the appliance securely to the remaining natural teeth can break or become distorted. A dentist can often repair or replace a broken clasp. Proper retention prevents movement that could harm underlying soft tissues and teeth.
The Risks of Attempting Do-It-Yourself Repairs
The immediate instinct might be to attempt a quick fix at home, but using household adhesives, such as superglue, or over-the-counter repair kits poses significant risks. Household glues contain chemicals like cyanoacrylate and formaldehyde, which are not medical-grade and are toxic for oral use. These substances can release harmful fumes and lead to chemical burns or irritation of the gum and mouth tissues.
A self-repair attempt rarely achieves the precise alignment needed for a functional fit. Improperly joined pieces create uneven pressure points against the gums. This misalignment causes chronic irritation, sores, and can accelerate jawbone resorption—the loss of bone structure that occurs when teeth are missing.
Do-it-yourself attempts often contaminate the acrylic material of the denture. Residue from non-medical adhesives can chemically react with the denture, making the surface resistant to specialized bonding agents used in professional dental labs. This contamination often makes a subsequent professional repair impossible, forcing the need for a complete replacement.
Professional Repair Procedures and When Replacement Is Necessary
When a dental prosthetic breaks, the professional process begins with precise reassembly of the fractured components. A dental professional or technician uses specialized cold-cure acrylics designed to chemically bond with the original material, often reinforcing the repair site with pins or wires for enhanced strength. This laboratory procedure ensures the repaired appliance maintains its original form and function, often taking around 24 hours depending on the complexity of the damage.
Sometimes, the issue is a change in fit caused by natural biological processes. The jawbone naturally shrinks and reshapes after teeth are lost, a process called bone resorption, which causes the denture to become loose. In this situation, a procedure called a reline or rebase is performed, which involves adding new acrylic material to the tissue-fitting surface to improve stability and comfort without replacing the artificial teeth.
Replacement becomes necessary if the denture is severely damaged with multiple breaks or if the acrylic base is warped beyond accurate realignment. If the denture is already old—typically past the 5-to-7-year mark—or if jawbone changes are too significant for a reline, a new appliance is recommended. Replacement ensures the best long-term fit for oral health and comfortable function.