how often should dentures be replaced

A denture does not last forever, even if it looks fine on the outside. The real reason dentures need replacing is not usually the denture itself but the changes in your mouth underneath it.

Why dentures stop fitting

• Your jaw keeps changing: after teeth are lost, the bone ridge slowly shrinks for the rest of your life. The fastest change is in the first year after extractions, but it continues more slowly afterwards. A denture made on yesterday's ridge gradually stops matching today's.
• The teeth wear down: acrylic teeth wear flat with chewing. Your bite becomes less efficient, and the lower part of your face shortens, which can make you look older and cause sore corners of the mouth.
• The material ages: acrylic picks up stains and microscopic scratches that hold germs and odour. It can also become brittle and crack.

Signs your denture needs attention

• It feels loose, slips when you talk or eat, or you are using more and more adhesive.
• You get sore spots or ulcers you did not have before.
• Food gets trapped under it more often.
• The teeth look flat, chipped or dull, or the pink base has darkened.
• Your lips and cheeks look more sunken, or deep cracks appear at the corners of the mouth.
• It clicks when you talk, or chewing has become harder.
• There are cracks, or it has been repaired more than once.

Reline, rebase or a new denture

• Reline: a new layer of material is added to the fitting surface so it matches your gums again. Often needed every year or two, and especially a few months after an immediate denture.
• Rebase: the whole pink base is replaced while the existing teeth are kept. Useful when the teeth are still good but the base is worn or stained.
• New denture: needed when the teeth are worn, the bite is wrong, or the denture has been relined so often that it no longer works well.

Your dentist will suggest the simplest option that will actually work. Replacing an otherwise good denture too early wastes money; keeping a worn one too long damages your gums and bone.

Partial dentures

Partial dentures depend on the natural teeth that hold them. If one of those teeth is lost, a partial denture can sometimes be modified by adding a tooth rather than replaced entirely. Flexible partial dentures are harder to modify or reline, so they may need replacing sooner when the mouth changes.

Do not skip the yearly check

Many people with full dentures stop visiting the dentist because they have no teeth left to treat. A yearly check is still important. Your dentist checks the fit, cleans and polishes the denture, and examines your gums, tongue, cheeks and palate for any ulcer or patch that needs attention. This matters most for people who have used tobacco, gutkha or supari, since early signs of oral cancer are easy to miss under a denture.

For loose dentures specifically, see our page on loose dentures. Our dentures treatment page and the dentures questions hub cover the options in more detail.