Step-by-Step Guide to Denture O-Ring Replacement

In this installment, Fitz and Ugie, one of our dental assistants, demonstrate how to change O-rings in denture housings. Ugie walks through the step-by-step procedure, explaining the tools needed, including gloves, an Explorer, and a Water Tip. She expertly removes old O-rings and replaces them with new ones, using techniques to ensure a secure fit in both upper and lower dentures.

Ugie emphasizes that O-rings should be replaced every six months, often during routine cleaning appointments. The video also highlights the various O-ring retention levels—standard, strong, and extra-strong—ensuring the perfect fit.

Many times, patients come in and their dentures start to feel a little loose after six months or so, because the O-rings start to wear out. In our office, we recommend replacing them every six months.

We put our patients on a hygiene recall program so that a dental hygienist will see that patient as part of a normal hygiene visit. They will take the dentures out. They’ll clean the dentures in an ultrasound cleaner. They’ll make sure the implants are nice and clean, free of plaque or calculus, and then replace the O-rings. The O-rings are inside the housing, as you know, and they snap onto the implant.

We most of the time sell new O-ring housings or O-rings by themselves. All you need to do is remove the little O-ring from the housing and replace it with a new one. We also have standard-fitting or ring housings and tighter-fitting O-ring housings, so you have options. The most important thing is to make sure your patients are comfortable. If they don’t need the extra tightness, I don’t recommend doing it.

If they feel they need them tighter, you can put in the tighter O-rings or housings. You can also alternate a normal one and then a tighter one. It all depends on your patient’s dexterity. The important thing is to replace those O-rings at least twice a year so they don’t wear out and cause metal-on-metal rubbing between the housing and the implant.