Dentures are removable replacements for missing teeth. There are two main types of dentures: complete and partial. Both are finely crafted and custom-fitted to the patient, and if properly maintained,will appear natural and provide a perfect smile.
Dentures can help patients in a number of ways:
1. Mastication - chewing ability is enhanced by replacing empty areas with denture teeth
2. Aesthetics - the presence of teeth provides a natural facial appearance, and wearing a denture to replace missing teeth offers support for the lips and cheeks and corrects the collapsed appearance that occurs after losing teeth
3. Phonetics - by replacing missing teeth, specifically the anteriors, patients are better able to speak by improving pronunciation of letters and words
4. Self-Esteem - Patients feel better about themselves with a complete set of teeth in their mouths
Complete Dentures
Complete dentures can be either "conventional" or "immediate." Made after the teeth have been removed and the gum tissue has begun to heal, a conventional denture is ready for placement in the mouth about 8 to 12 weeks after the teeth have been removed.
Unlike conventional dentures, immediate dentures are made in advance and can be positioned as soon as the teeth are removed. As a result, the wearer does not have to be without teeth during the healing period. However, bones and gums shrink over time, especially during the healing period following tooth removal.Therefore, a disadvantage of immediate dentures compared with conventional dentures is that they require more adjustments to fit properly during the healing process and generally should only be considered as a temporary solution until conventional dentures can be made.
Partial Dentures
Partial dentures can be classified into removable partial dentures and fixed partial dentures, also known as bridges.
A removable partial denture is for a patient who has only a few missing teeth, and desires to have replacement teeth for functional or aesthetic reasons, and who cannot have a bridge (a fixed partial denture) for any number of reasons, such as a lack of required teeth to serve as support for a bridge or due to financial limitations.
The reason why this type of prosthesis is referred to as a removable partial denture is because patients can remove it and reinsert it when required without professional help.
