How to Make Dentures Step-by-Step

Dentures have been around since 700 B.C., when the Etruscans in northern Italy were making them out of animal or human teeth. Since then, animal bone, ivory and wood have been used to make dentures. Nowadays dentures are composed of ceramics and are custom fitted to the patient’s mouth for a comfortable and natural appearance.

1. Heat a sheet of wax over a flame and press onto a plaster mold of the patient’s mouth. This is completed by a lab technician to make an impression tray that will be used to make a rubber mold to cast the dentures.


2. Apply acrylic material over the wax lining, creating a handle with the acrylic material so that it can be removed from the wax. 


3. Remove the acrylic tray with the handle and throw the wax away. 


4. Fill the acrylic tray with rubber to take a final impression. This mold is used as a negative impression of the mouth.


5. Fill the mold with plaster. This mold is used to fit the part of the dentures that fits onto the patient’s gums.


6. Use a special orthodontic acrylic to press into the mold to form the base plate and a sheet of heated wax to form the rim of the base. This should be inserted into the patient’s mouth for a fitting and measurements should be taken to decide tooth placement.


7. Select teeth to best fit the patient’s mouth and insert them into the wax rim one by one.


8. Send the mold back to the dentist for a final check on the bite alignment.


9. Position the mold in a holder called a flask and attach channels so that acrylic can be injected into the mold to replace the wax holding the teeth in place.


10. Cast a plaster mold to hold the teeth in place. Once the plaster dries, submerge the piece in hot water to melt the wax inside. 


11. Rinse the plaster mold with warm water to remove any wax residue.


12. Apply a separator chemical to keep the acrylic from sticking to the plaster mold.


13. Place a cylinder of acrylic over the flask. Force the material into the mold using an air pressure piston.


14. Submerge the mold in boiling water for 35 minutes to harden the acrylic.


15. Cool the flask and break the plaster. The teeth will now be rooted in the acrylic.


16. Remove any additional plaster and shine the dentures.