Obturator Healing & Cleaning

Transitional Obturator

1. In early phases of healing, wear the transitional obturator 24 hours a day, removing only to clean the defect
2. If you develop sore spots or begin to leak severely, call Dr Davis’ office and schedule a modification appointment.
3. One or both of these problems will occur as you heal and the defect changes.
4. Clean by brushing with soap and water (See Denture Care Instructions Below)

Definative Obturator

1. The Definative Obturator should be removed at night to allow the tissues and/or teeth a break.
2. While you sleep is the best time to have it out. If you cannot sleep with it out, you will need to find 4-6 hrs a day when it can be out of your mouth.
3. Clean by brushing with soap and water (See Denture Care Instructions Below)

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Cleaning Instructions

1. Brush your dentures/partial dentures with a soft tooth brush or denture brush with soap and water. Do Not use toothpaste. It has abrasives that will scratch and wear away the surface.
2. Just soaking WILL NOT clean your dentures. The debris must be physically removed with a brush.
3. NEVER SOAK YOUR DENTURE OR PARTIAL DENTURE IN CLOROX OR ANY TYPE OF BLEACH! It will turn the pink acrylic white and the metal of the partial denture black.
4. After brushing you can soak your dentures in a denture soak or in 50/50 mix of mouthwash and water to freshen them while you sleep.
5. Good hygiene will help avoid “Denture Breath”.

Notes to Consider

1. Nature did not intend for man to wear dentures. We must, therefore, be very careful of the supporting tissues.
2. In addition to keeping the dentures meticulously clean, you must rest the tissues at least 6-8 hours a day. At night, while you sleep is the best time to accomplish this.
   NEVER SLEEP IN YOUR DENTURES! Take them out to give the gums, and teeth if you wear Partial Dentures, a break. Otherwise, they will fit more loosely, and the tissues may have more sore spots and inflammation. The constant pressure will also cause increased bone loss over the years.
3. The tissues that support your dentures are constantly changing; therefore, you must return for a check up at least yearly.
4. At some point your dentures will need to be relined, or remade, depending on the wear on the teeth, and how quickly your bone is remodeling.

What to Expect from Your New Dentures

1. You must learn to manipulate your new dentures. Most patients require at least 1-3 wks to learn to use new dentures, and some require more time.
2. Dentures are not as efficient as natural teeth, so you should not expect to chew as well with dentures as with your natural teeth. They are, however, better than no teeth at all.
3. There may be foods that you could eat with your natural teeth that you can not eat with dentures. Everyone is different and what you can and cannot eat is very dependent on how well developed your ridges are. Some people have plenty of bone and nice tall ridges, thus, they can eat a wider variety of foods.
4. Start with small bites of easy to manage foods. Remember that a knife and fork are essential when eating with dentures to cut your food into manageable bites. Add different types of foods and textures of foods until you discover what you can and can not eat.
5. Nuts and hard crunchy or tough chewy foods WILL BE hard on your ridges and could make sore spots. These will clear up on their own in 3-5 days.
   Note: Any sore that remains longer than this is more than a friction rub and is being caused by the denture. You will need to return and have the pressure spot adjusted on the denture.
6. Speaking may feel awkward for a while. Usually, you will adapt within the first 24 hrs. If you do not, try reading aloud and your tongue and brain will get coordinated to the new surfaces they are forming the words against.

Adjustments

1. Adjustments are expected. Usually within 1-3 adjustments we will have the sores worked out and from that time on the dentures should be no trouble, with the exception of friction rubs, previously mentioned. These will resolve on their own in 3-5 days.We do not charge for the first 1-5 adjustments, after that there is an office visit fee. Please do not walk around hurting; Come in and let us make your dentures fit you. We do not want you to hurt until you fit your dentures.

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Facial Prosthesis Care & Use

1. Your Facial Prosthesis is made of silicone rubber. Because the surface is porous it can absorb dirt and stain and will darken over time due to this as well as a process called greening. Greening is caused by exposure to UV light. Therefore it is best to cover up when in the sun. You may also use a water soluble sunscreen on your prosthesis to protect it and prolong its life when you are in the sun.
2. It is vitally important that you do not permit the adhesive to get on the outer surface of your prosthesis as this will attract dirt. It is also important that you remove the adhesive daily, making sure you clean it so that the back is shiny and clean. You may use your fingernail or a blunt instrument to gently scrape off any adhesive residue that begins to build up and that the Telesis Super Solv did not remove.
3. At some point your Facial Prosthesis will need to be replaced. For adhesive retained prostheses this will be about every year. For Implant retained prosthesis it will be about every 1-3 years. The adhesive is harder on the prosthesis, thus the increased need for replacement. Reasons for replacement include; darkening of the color, tearing of the thin margins, or tissue changes resulting in poor fit of the margins. When its time for replacement, if you call our office, a new prosthesis will be pressed out of your mold and we will get you in for a coloring and delivery appointment, unless the tissues have changed in which case we will need to start over with a new impression and sculpture.
4. With an adhesive retained prosthesis you can do most activities, however, be aware that for strenuous activities the prosthesis can become dislodged and also sweat can make the adhesive let go. It is best to remove the prosthesis before beginning the activity. Swimming with the prosthesis is not advice because the adhesive will let go and the prosthesis WILL sink. Also of consideration is that the chlorine in a chlorinated pool can damage the color over time. Certainly an implant retained prosthesis can tolerate more strenuous activities and remain in place with better certainty.
5. Store your prosthesis in some type of container at night. Placing it on your nightstand can be risky if you have a dog. They can smell your scent on the prosthesis, and love to steal facial prostheses off the nightstand and eat them. Many a nose and ear have been chewed up by playful pets.
6. Following delivery of your new prosthesis you should not scratch or rub the surface until it has had 24 hours for the colors to fully dry. You will also not clean the adhesive off the back that first night. You may clean it the next morning. After the 24 hour period, nothing will hurt nor remove your coloration.

Purchasing Products

The products I recommend are purchased through Premiere Products Inc. at 800-346-4774.

You will need:

• Top Guard (optional): 1 bottle will last a long time
• Telesis Silicone Adhesive: 2-4 bottles at a time
• Store unopened bottles in the refrigerator to preserve them until ready to use.
• Telesis Super Solv: 4-6 bottles at a time

Placing Your Prosthesis

1. Clean your face and dry well.
2. If you use the Top Guard tissue primer, place it on the skin where the prosthesis fits.
3. Paint the Telesis 5 Adhesive on the prosthesis. Paint it on the margins that touch the skin and be certain you do not get any on the outside of the prosthesis, nor on your fingers, as they may touch the prosthesis and get adhesive on the outside.
   ALWAYS PAINT ADHESIVE ON FROM INSIDE OUT! NEVER PAINT PARALLEL TO MARGINS AS IT WILL GET ADHESIVE ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE PROSTHESIS.
4. There is no rush to place the prosthesis. The adhesive will not dry out. Place the prosthesis making sure all margins fit snug and to the tissue contours properly. The adhesive will not let you slide the prosthesis over if you miss your mark. Simply pull it away and reposition.
5. Press the margins firmly to insure tight fit.
   Note: Every prosthesis has a margin that comes loose periodically during the day. You will learn which one it is and develop a habit of from time to time tapping this margin to press it back down, as you might push your glasses back up on your nose. Because every prosthesis is different, as is the quality of the skin it is fitting to, as well as some people have much more mobile and animated tissue and facial expressions, it may be necessary to reapply the adhesive at some point during the day.

Cleaning Your Prosthesis

1. Remove by peeling the skin away from the prosthesis as you also peel the prosthesis off the skin.
2. Spray the Telesis Super Solv on the prosthesis and allow it a minute to emulsify the adhesive then wipe clean with a gauze, washcloth, paper towel, or however you wish.
3. Rinse and wash the Super Solv residue off the prosthesis with soap and water. Any soap will do. You do not want to leave residue on prosthesis or the next morning the adhesive will not stick to the prosthesis very well.
4. You may use the Super Solv on your skin to help remove the adhesive from your skin. Spray some on a tissue, paper towel, wash cloth or gauze and clean your skin, then clean with soap and water.
5. You may clean the outside of the prosthesis with Super Solv, Alcohol, Acetone, or soap and water. With the technique I use, the colors will remain stable. At least once a week, if not more often, give outside a good scrubbing to keep dirt and adhesive build up off prosthesis.
6. Store prosthesis in container until the next morning.

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Kamillosan (Promote Healing due to Radiation & Chemotherapy)

Kamillosan is a medicament derived from the Camomile plant. This product was shown in research done by Dr William Carl at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, to help promote and speed healing at the cellular level of oral tissues damaged by radiation and chemotherapy.

Use 3-4 times a day. Mix 5ml of Kamillosan with 4oz of water.

1. Rinse out mouth well with an oral rinse like Biotene Mouthrinse. Do not use regular mouthwash as it may burn the ulcerated tissue due to the alcohol content.
2. Swish the Kamillosan mix around mouth and spit out.
3. Rinse with another mouthful, but swallow all subsequent mouthfuls to coat your throat.
4. Continue to rinse until the 4oz cup is empty.
   This takes approximately 4 mouthfuls.
5. Kamillosan will not interact with any other medicines you may be taking. It will not upset your stomach. It is actually soothing to your stomach.

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What Causes Xerostomia (Dry Mouth)?

This can be caused by Chemo and Radiation to the head and neck regions. It can also be cause by certain medications you may be taking, such as heart medicine and by some disease entities such as Sjogrens Syndrome. The lack of saliva can drastically increase cavity formation in your mouth due to the lower ph that occurs and due to bacteria that can more easily attach to your teeth.

What Should I do?

1. Meticulous homecare will be required to keep your teeth.
2. There are products that can assist with the dry mouth symptoms such as:
   • Biotene products that can be obtained thru your drugstore
   • MedActive products which can be ordered online
3. Additionally we advise that you carry water with you at all times to sip from.

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Brushing Instructions

We recommend a Fluoride toothpaste, GC MI Paste Plus. The MI Paste is obtained thru our office (we charge you the same price we pay without markup). The Fluoride prepares the enamel surface for remineralization and the MI Paste provides the calcium to strengthen and remineralize the enamel.

1. Use soft bristled toothbrush.
2. Place MI Paste Plus on toothbrush, or in Fluoride Trays.
3. Brush carefully, yet thoroughly.
4. Swish the solution around in your mouth for one min.
5. Spit, but DO NOT RINSE MOUTH WITH WATER. We want the residue to remain on the teeth, especially at bedtime.

Click here to download Care Instruction for this page (PDF)