Dentures & Partials
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Dentures are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, and which are supported by surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. Conventional dentures are removable; however there are many different denture designs, some which rely on bonding or clasping onto teeth or dental implants.
Causes of tooth loss
Patients can become entirely edentulous (without teeth) due to many reasons, the most prevalent being removal because of dental disease typically periodontal disease or tooth decay. Other reasons include tooth developmental defects caused by severe malnutrition, genetic defects, trauma, or drug use.
Advantages of Dentures
Dentures can help patients in a number of ways:
- Mastication – chewing ability is improved by replacing edentulous areas with denture teeth.
- Aesthetics – the presence of teeth provide a natural facial appearance, and wearing a denture to replace missing teeth provides support for the lips and checks and corrects the collapsed appearance that occurs after losing teeth.
- Phonetics – by replacing missing teeth, especially the anteriors, patients are better able to speak by improving pronunciation of those words containing sibilants or fricatives.
- Self-Esteem – Patients feel better about themselves.
Concerns with Dentures
Some patients who believe they have “bad teeth” may think it is in their best interests to have all their teeth extracted and full dentures placed. However, statistics show that the majority of patients who actually receive this treatment wind up regretting they did so. This is because full dentures have only 10% of the chewing power of natural teeth, and it is difficult to get them fitted satisfactorily, particularly in the mandibular arch. Even if a patient retains one tooth, that will contribute to the denture’s stability. However, retention of just one or two teeth in the upper jaw does not contribute much to the overall stability of a denture, since a full upper denture tends to be very stable, in contrast to a full lower denture. It is thus advised that patients keep their natural teeth as long as possible, especially their lower teeth.
