Patient Visit 5

INITIAL PLACEMENT OF THE DENTURES

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Before placing the dentures in the patient's mouth, should wash any prosthesis received from the dental lab first in soap and water.  You then must disinfect the prosthesis for 10 minutes before placing it in the patient's mouth. Now, observe the tissue surfaces.  Use your fingers to feel for any sharp projections, blebs or rough areas that would injure the patient.  Observe the peripheries of the dentures for over- and under- extension and thickness.  The external surfaces of the dentures should be smooth and polished.

Gently try in first the mandibular denture followed by the maxillary denture.  Observe the vertical and horizontal relationships.  Evaluate the esthetic result.  Have the patient speak and evaluate the patient's phonetics.

Observe the extension of the denture borders in the patient's mouth.  At this point, you are ready to evaluate the tissue surface of the denture with pressure-indicating paste (PIP)