Introduction
A broken prosthesis represents an unpleasant situation for the patient, which makes it impossible for him/her to continue his/her usual daily routine. Without a prosthesis, the affected person is usually unable to speak, drink and eat as usual. In addition, one is severely impaired in aesthetics and would prefer not to meet another person. In any case a dentist must be consulted. Independent bonding, for example with superglue, is not sensible and offers many risks.
Can the prosthesis be glued again?
Unfortunately there is no possibility to glue a prosthesis yourself. Often the fragments cannot be inserted without a gap and obstruct each other, so that they cannot be inserted into the mouth at all. If the patient uses glue to connect the fragments outside the mouth, he or she cannot join the fragments together correctly and the prosthesis may not fit in the mouth at all.
In most cases, the prosthesis can be repaired or glued by qualified personnel. In any case a dentist should be consulted, who will send the prosthesis to a dental laboratory for repair. The dentist has to decide if a repair is possible or if it makes sense to make a new prosthesis.
If the prosthesis is broken into many small pieces, a new prosthesis must be considered, because in this case the gluing often does not lead to a satisfying result. It is also possible that the prosthesis is older and the edentulous jaw has reshaped over time to such an extent that a perfect fit between prosthesis and jaw can no longer be guaranteed. In such cases the prosthesis must be relined additionally.
If the dentist decides to repair the denture, he/she has to take an impression of the jaw and an impression of the denture. For this purpose, an impression tray is filled with a kneadable impression material, which is then inserted into the patient’s mouth and has to remain there for a few minutes until it has hardened. These impressions are then taken to a dental laboratory and serve the dental technician as a template for the actual patient situation in the mouth. The repair usually takes a few hours up to a day and until then the patient unfortunately has to do without his prosthesis or ideally has a replacement prosthesis at hand which will serve as a substitute until the repair is completed.
