A Denturists role to make a successful set of dentures for specific individuals is to understand the function of the head, neck, Temporal mandibular joint (TMJ) and the insertion and influence if the facial and oral muscles.
Dentures replace natural teeth, but do not replace the root function of natural teeth. Therefore dentures sit against the oral tissues of the Alveolar ridge left after the extractions of the teeth.
Stability and the ability to control the dentures is through the balance of the occlusion of the denture teeth and the contouring of the denture base flanges that engage the muscles of the mouth.
When you open your mouth to a large opening with natural teeth, it feels like your just opening your mouth. When this is done with dentures the lower denture rises off the ridge with the support of the muscles.
Some simple steps to balancing the dentures is with the plane of your eyes, facial symmetry.
Contouring the dentures is to utilize the ridge structures and tongue size to fabricate the dentures to the optimum size without interference of the tongue mobility which can push the dentures free of their foundation.
Denturists use measurements to determine the functional freeway space between our teeth for proper phonetics of speech while providing the soft esthetic smile that best suits that specific individual.