Tracy Merkley is a denturist with the Central Park Denture & Implant Centre in Victoria, BC

In the language of dentures, the “base” is the pink acrylic that sits on your gums; the “bite” is in reference to the teeth of the denture and how they come together to help you chew. 

They should be set up to match or interdigitate so that they meet in full contact with balance.  If they don’t, they can bump into each other releasing any suction you may have, which will lead you to think you need a reline.  Or, they can tip the dentures in your mouth causing movement and sore spots. 

As your back teeth wear down and wear away the anatomy of the teeth, this allows the lower jaw to come forward more than it should, giving you a protruding jaw position that we call “overclosed vertical dimension”. 

All this is correctable but will require a new denture as it involves repositioning the height of the back teeth. (The most accurate method for this is the intra oral pin tracer.  If you can move your jaw forward and back, side to side, then you can be a successful candidate for this type of bite registration.  It maps the movement of your lower jaw to get a target for closure.)

If you are experiencing the symptoms of an incorrect bite, such as sore spots, movement and lack of suction and your dentures are relatively new, an equilibration might correct the problem. 

By taking a bite registration in the new denture and remounting it on the articulator, we can grind the imbalances out of your denture teeth so that they meet correctly and chew in harmony with your jaw. 

You might feel the premature contact somewhere in your bite and think that it will “settle in”, but it will not.  Many frustrating visits for both patient and practitioner can be avoided if the bite is the first thing corrected. 

Communication is still the key component in your denture success and your practitioner will value your business and referrals.