Frequently Asked Questions

No, you do not need a referral to see a denturist at Kingston Denture Clinic. Our denturist will refer you to a physician or dentist if during evaluation it is found that you would need their services.

At Kingston Denture Clinic, we are unable to offer you a quote over the phone, as dentures are customized to each patient’s particular needs. We can offer you a quote after a complete evaluation of your needs.

It generally takes 4 to 6 weeks to make new dentures, or one custom fitting per week. However, we can usually accommodate emergency rush cases in less time, if necessary. Your smile is very important to us, and Kingston Denture Clinc only does quality, custom work to meet each individual patient’s needs.

Your appointments generally go as follows:

Impressions

Moulds of your mouth will be taken. This is the foundation for creating your new smile.

Bite

This appointment enables us to establish your jaw relationship, and gives us a guide for where your teeth should be. We will also choose a tooth shade/colour and discuss any suggestions or requests you may have regarding your desired appearance.

Try in or “Preview” and Final Impressions
You will try in your new teeth during this appointment. At this stage, the teeth will still be in wax and we will be able to make any adjustments or changes before finishing the final product, if need be. We will also check your bite. Once you approve the appearance, we will proceed to the “finish” appointment. If any changes need to be made, you will be booked to come back for a retry appointment. We will not finish your dentures until you have approved the appearance.

Finish

You will wear your new dentures home! At this appointment, we will fit you with your new teeth and you will be given a post-care package complete with cleaning, maintenance and post-care instructions.

Post-Insertion Check

We like to see you back one week later to check how you’re managing with your new teeth. Quite often new dentures will need some adjusting and it is not uncommon to have a few sore spots or tenderness. It is very important that you come back for this appointment so that we can ensure your comfort and wellbeing.

Depending on your chosen treatment, you may require fewer or more appointments. Once you’ve decided on your treatment, your denturist will inform you of the number of appointments you will require. Appointments generally take anywhere from 10 minutes to one hour depending on the procedure. Kingston Denture Clinic will notify you when you are due for your annual re-care and/or reline appointments.

Partial dentures are for people who are missing one or more teeth, and only need to replace the teeth that have been lost.

Denture materials can vary in quality and selection. Denture teeth come in a wide variety of shapes, moulds, shades and varying degrees of hardness. A standard denture is a basic conventional denture made using standard materials with limited basic tooth shapes (moulds) and shades (colours); standard denture teeth tend to wear down at a faster rate and need to be replaced more often than precision denture teeth.

Precision or premium dentures are made using high-quality materials, in combination with additional techniques and procedures that are not included with standard dentures. Precision teeth offer an extensive range of shapes and shades designed and created to appear more like natural teeth. At Kingston Denture Clinic, we offer our patients BPS® (Biofunctional Prosthetic System) premium dentures. This Biofunctional Prosthetic System, or BPS®, uses specific techniques, procedures and high-quality materials to create natural, lifelike premium quality dentures that provide our patients with optimal fit, function and appearance.

The benefits of BPS® Precision Dentures are:

• Comfort: reduced irritation to the gums
  Strength: extremely dense material, reduces incidence of breakage.
• Cleanliness: non-porous surface greatly lessens odour-causing plaque and bacteria.
• Fit: non-irritating and comfortable to wear; no denture adhesive required.
• Health: more accurate fit allows you to eat virtually any foods.
• Esthetics: customized and natural looking so you can smile, speak and laugh with confidence.
• Bio-compatible: will not distort taste, stain, collect odours or irritating bacteria.

Because everyone’s mouth is different, the type of denture you choose should best reflect your individual needs. Precision crafted dentures focus more on procedures and techniques used during fabrication and are finished with high quality teeth that give a natural appearance. Precision dentures require specific instrumentation designed to focus on analyzing bite registration and jaw relationships in order to maximize function and provide a more stable fit.

If you’d like to learn more about the difference between precision and standard denture options, please call 613-542-5442 to book your complimentary consultation today!

Kingston Denture Clinic advises our patients to replace their denture(s) every 5 to 10 years. Even with regular relines, which can help improve the fit, the denture teeth will still wear down over time. When the teeth on your denture(s) begin to wear down, this will affect and change the way you chew and digest your food. Worn teeth can also alter your bite. The bite is very important. If your bite changes due to worn down denture teeth, you could develop problems with your TMJ (temporomandibular joint) resulting in sore jaw muscles and headaches. Worn teeth can also place uneven stress on your denture, thus increasing the potential for your denture(s) to break.

In general, it is recommended you reline your denture every 2 to 3 years and replace your dentures every 5 to10 years. Kingston Denture Clinic recommends you make an annual or biannual appointment to have your denture(s) assessed; this will help you to stay informed on the current condition of your denture(s).

To book an appointment for your complimentary consultation and denture assessment, call 613-542-5442.

The lower denture, in most cases, will never be as “tight”-fitting as the upper denture. There are a few reasons for this:

• The palate, or roof of the mouth, is shaped in such a way that the upper denture creates a suction, or seal. This suction is what causes the upper denture to stay up on the roof of the mouth.
• The lower jaw is not an ideal area to support a denture because there is no suction or seal to keep the denture in place.
• In the lower jaw area, almost everything moves (excluding the bone), i.e. the jaw joint itself, the floor of the mouth and the tongue. The tongue is a very strong muscle and must share the space with the lower denture. The tongue is attached to the floor of the mouth which moves when your tongue moves. The tongue and the floor of the mouth can both work together against your lower denture causing it to lift and move around. This can result in embarrassing moments like food getting caught underneath the denture, and sore spots from the denture rubbing on the gums.

In actual fact, what keeps a lower denture in place are the muscles in the face, cheeks, lips and tongue. These muscle skills (adaptation) do not develop overnight, and for people who are new to wearing dentures or for people who have worn the same dentures for a number of years, adjusting to a new lower denture can prove to be extremely frustrating and challenging. The truth is that dentures, both lower and upper, only get more difficult to wear as time goes on, regardless of whether the dentures are old or made new. This is because the inside of your mouth is always changing and getting smaller over time. As the bone under the gums shrinks (resorption), your dentures, especially the lower, will become more difficult to wear.

In the past, dentures were the only option to replacing lost teeth. Today there are many different solutions available. If you are interested in learning about your individual removable and permanent options for replacing your denture(s), please call 613-542-5442 to book your complimentary consultation.

Therefore, in the areas where teeth are missing, the bone and gums recede or shrink back, and this is called resorption. Resorption occurs slowly over time after the teeth have been removed and the gums have healed. You will not notice a change in your mouth from day-to-day, but you may notice after 1 to 3 years of wearing your new dentures that they begin to feel loose, or they may start to rub on your gums causing sore spots. This is because the inside of your mouth is slowly getting smaller; therefore, in order to keep your current facial appearance, denture(s) slowly get larger to maintain the shape of your face. For example, when there are no teeth and no dentures in the mouth, the lips and face slump. When you put your dentures in your mouth, your appearance is restored, filling out your lips and face.

One of the largest misconceptions denture wearers fall prey to is thinking if they’ve had no problems with past dentures, they will never have problems with any future dentures. Past experiences, and the experiences of others (“my mother/sister/uncle/friend, etc. never had this much trouble…”), are not accurate indications of any future struggles as far as dentures are concerned. You must be aware of the limitations within your mouth.

Dentures are not ideal solutions for tooth loss; rather, for many people they are merely a different set of problems. New dentures, regardless if you’ve worn dentures for decades or are new to the world of dentures, will always pose challenges and require that you prepare yourself for an adjustment phase. Like any prosthetic body part, dentures take time, patience and perseverance in order to prevail, and will never feel quite like natural, healthy teeth. At Kingston Denture Clinic, we guide you through the adjustment phase and do our very best to help you cope with your new dentures.

If you’d like to learn more about the different options available to replacing your dentures, please call 613-542-5442 to book your complimentary consultation.

Daily cleaning of your dentures is necessary to prevent plaque and calculus (tartar) buildup, food stains, bad breath odours, mouth infections and redness or irritation to your gums.

Many denture wearers report that despite brushing and soaking their dentures in cleansers regularly (i.e. Polydent), buildup and discoloration still occurs. Certain foods will stain your denture teeth, such as: coffee, tea, red wine, tomato sauces and curries. Your saliva also plays a role in denture build up. There are many different medications that will affect the consistency of your saliva. Medications that make your mouth dry and your saliva thick and ropey can contribute to buildup sticking to your denture.

Daily cleaning for your dentures should include:

• Removing your dentures and rinsing with water, as well as brushing after meals, helps to remove plaque and some food stains.
• Use a denture brush or a soft tooth brush with water, soap (liquid hand soap), or a denture paste when cleaning your dentures. Use a separate soft tooth brush and toothpaste for cleaning any natural teeth remaining; and don’t forget to gently brush your tongue and gum surfaces daily.
• Do not use toothpaste on your dentures unless it states safe to use on dentures. Toothpaste contains abrasives that can scratch your dentures, making it easier for buildup to collect and adhere to the scratched denture surface.
• Choose a denture cleanser that suits you and your schedule. Some cleansers require an overnight soak, some require a 5 to 20-minute soak, and some are not good to use for soft liners or cast metal partial dentures. It is important to read the instructions before you purchase a denture cleanser to ensure you are getting the best one for you. Denture cleansers should be used every other day or twice a week depending of coffee or tea drinking habits, in combination with brushing and rinsing every day. You can purchase denture cleansers (i.e. Polydent or Efferdent) over the counter at your local drug store or at the Kingston Denture Clinic office. We carry Renew.