Finishing And Polishing Of Complete Denture Introduction
Finishing is removal of gross surface roughness. It is usually done with laboratory bur, aluminum oxide acrylic trimmer, and sand paper. Polishing is done to smoothen the surface and to give luster or polish to the surface.
Table of Contents
Finishing The Denture
Step 1:
Remove the mounting plaster from denture surface. Take care while removing plaster from the impression surface. Sharp BP blade can be used to remove investing plaster/stone from interdental areas.
Read and Learn More: Preclinical Prosthodontics Notes
Step 2:
Use tungsten carbide laboratory bur mounted on micromotor straight handpiece to trim excess material from borders of dentures. Use fine tungsten carbide laboratory bur to finish the flanges. Do not apply excess pressure while finishing, it may cause indentation on surface of denture flanges.
Step 3:
Use straight fissure bur or small round bur to remove investing plaster from interdental areas. Make appropriate notches in frenum areas to relieve frenum. The notch for labial frenum is long and narrow and notches for lingual and buccal frenum are wider and shallow.
Step 4:
Smoothen the flanges and borders using aluminum oxide mounted acrylic trimmer. Take care of root morphology while trimming. Follow the contour of root bulges.
Step 5:
Use rubber point mounted on straight handpiece to remove scratches from the denture surface.
Step 6:
Use sand papers of various grit sizes to smoothen the polish surface of denture. Start sand papering with coarse sand paper
(80–100 number) and finally use finer grit size (250–300 number). Wet the sand paper with water and repeat the sand papering again (wet sand papering). At last, finishing is done with fine emery paper of 1,000–1,200 numbers. Sand papering can be done manually or using sand paper mandrel.
Polishing The Denture (Pumicing The Denture)
Polishing of denture is done on flanges, borders, and on palate. Do not finish or polish tissue surface of denture. For polishing of denture, polishing buff and rag wheel are used according to the area to be polished. Pumice in the form of powder or cake is used as polishing agent.
Step 1:
Add pumice powder in water to make slurry. Use copious amount of pumice slurry with polishing buff to polish the denture. Polish the surface in various directions to give shine. Use appropriate pressure while polishing.
Step 2:
Use laboratory motor driven rag wheel to polish areas where polishing is not possible with polishing buff. Use rag wheel to polish lingual flange of mandibular denture and palatal surface of maxillary denture.
Wash the denture with clean water and dry it. Examine for scratches on the surface. If scratches are found, repeat the polishing with slurry. Use pumice cake with polishing buff and rag wheel to give high polish to the denture. Examine for scratches if any.
Step 3:
Lightly use clean cotton buff without pumice to give high luster to denture. This will also remove pumice from denture surface.
Step 4:
Use soap water and soft bristle toothbrush to clean any residue of polishing agent from denture surface. Wash the denture with water. Polishing of denture is completed. Store the denture in water.
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