Modern dentures are most often created in a commercial laboratory, or by a Denturist utilizing a combination of tissue shaded powders PMMA, polymethylmethacrylate acrylic. These acrylics are available as cold cured or heat cured. Acrylic teeth are widely available in hundreds of shapes and tooth colours.

The process usually begins with an initial impression of the maxillary and mandibular ridges utilizing standard impression materials. At this stage the impression is not detailed. A stone model is created from the mold to create a ‘custom impression tray’, this is used to make a second detailed and accurate impression of the patient’s ridges. Polyvinylsiloxane impression material is one of a few very accurate impression materials utilized for creating the final impressions. A wax rim is created to assist the Denturist in establishing the vertical dimension of occlusion. Following this, a bite registration is created to marry the position of the arches to each other.

When the relative position of each arch is known, the wax rim can be utilized as a base to place the denture in the correct position. This is tested with a mouth, so adjustments can be made. Once all involved verify the arrangement of the teeth and all phonetic requirements are met, the denture is processed.

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