What are Dentures?

Dentures are removable appliances that are replacement for no teeth. They are artificial. They are not real teeth. Dentures offer 15-20% chewing efficiency.

Dentures are custom-made to restore your smile and part of oral function that were lost due to missing teeth. Dentures can benefit your appearance and your health.

Tooth loss makes eating, smiling and talking difficult and uncomfortable. When all of your teeth are missing, your facial muscles will sag inward making you look and feel older. Dentures can fill out the lost structures making your profile full and young.

Precision Attachment Removable Partial Denture for a missing tooth – denturesguide.com

What are different types of dentures?

There are three basic types of dentures:
Conventional Dentures are made and placed in your mouth after the remaining teeth are removed and your gum tissues have healed. After extraction your edentulous ridges will usually heal completely after 6-8 weeks.

Immediate dentures are inserted on the same day that the remaining teeth are removed. Your dentist will make impressions. From the impressions, your dentist will make models of your jaw during a preliminary visit. You don’t have to be without teeth during the healing period. When completely healed your immediate dentures may become your defintive dentures by having them relined. Your dentist will decide if they have to be remade after your jaw has healed.

Overdentures fit over a small number of remaining natural teeth after they have been prepared by your dentist. The prepared remaining teeth offer added retention for your dentures. Implants can serve the same purpose.

More info about dentures

Denture is commonly known as Dental Prosthesis. It is also known as dental plate, stay plate, false teeth and gnasher. A denture replaces all or some missing teeth, both for function and esthetic purposes.

Dentures can be classified in many ways, such as:
1. Complete Dentures
2. Partial Dentures

A Complete Denture is a dental prostthesis that replaces all of the natural dentition and associated structure of the maxilla or mandible.

Upper and lower complete dentures. – denturesguide.com

A Partial Denture is a dental prosthesis that replaces some teeth in a partially dentate arch.

Dental prosthesis can also be:
a. Removable Denture
b. Fixed Denture

A Removable Denture is a dental prosthesis that can be removed from the mouth and replaced at will by the patient.

A Fixed Denture is a dental prosthesis that cannot be removed at will by the patient.

Metal ceramic fixed-fixed partial denture. – denturesguide.com

A Denture can also be classified according to its purpose:
Interim / provisional Denture
Definite / final Denture

An Interim Denture is a dental prosthesis used for a short time for reasons of esthetics, mastication, occlusal support, or convenience or for conditioning the patient to accept and artificial substitute for missing natural teeth until a more definite prosthetic dental treatment can be provided.

A Final Denture is the definite prosthetic dental treatment. It is used for a long time.

Denture Index

A. Fixed Denture

• Cement Retained
• Screw Retained
• Friction Retained

B. Removable Denture

• Complete Removable Denture
• Partial Removable Denture

Denture Index – denturesguide.com

Reference
[1] Carr A B et al: McCracken’s removable partial prosthodontics 11th ed. Mosby 2005.

For complete and comprehensive information about dentures, please consult your dentist.

Written by:
Dentures Guide+