Scan before it is lost.
A missing denture can affect eating, speaking, appearance and confidence. 3D Dental can help care homes move from reacting after a denture disappears to recording and identifying it beforehand.
A practical care-home pathway
Identify
Record whose denture it is. When a replica is manufactured, denture identification can be added as an option.
Photograph
Keep simple visual records of the appliance and its condition.
Scan
Ask a local dentist with suitable scanning equipment to create a digital denture record while the appliance is still present.
Plan
Decide whether to manufacture a spare now or retain the digital record for a future pathway.
Ask a dentist with a scanner to help
Care homes do not need to buy scanning equipment to get started. Ask local dental practices whether they already have a suitable scanner and would be willing to support residents.
We will encourage participating dentists and scanners to register on the Dental Health Service website so care homes can find local support more easily as the directory grows.
A simple message to your local dentist
“Do you have a digital scanner, and could you help us record residents’ dentures before they are lost?”
If yes, they can also consider registering on the Dental Health Service directory so other local people and care homes can find them.
Designed for prevention, not panic
The commercial opportunity is not simply selling a replacement after something has gone wrong. It is helping homes reduce the disruption caused by denture loss in the first place.
- Denture identification as an option when a replica denture is manufactured.
- Digital scanning days for residents.
- Replica/spare denture pathway.
- Staff information and simple protocols.
- Potential links to wider oral-health support.
No sensitive Vault in phase one
The public website can explain and sell the service without becoming the storage location for resident radiographs or other sensitive health information. Secure record storage should be built separately.