A denture is a removable prosthesis or appliance (complete or partial) made to replace missing teeth. There are two main types; partial dentures (where there are natural remaining teeth present) or complete dentures (complete arch tooth loss).
We pride ourselves on being able to offer a variety of materials from which dentures can be made from. The main types include:
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Acrylic – A modern high impact versatile light-weight plastic. Can easily add other teeth lost to the denture. These dentures as they rest on the gum tend to sink into the gum and as a result of pressure on the bone can lead to the underlying bone being resorbed. Classically partial plastic dentures were called gum strippers because of the fact they were stripping gums from the teeth as they sink in. Upper partial plastic dentures usually cover the palate hence reduce the taste of food. Dentures generally become loose over time as the underlying bone is being resorbed. Patients generally resort to denture fixatives to fill the void between the denture and the gum with the adhesive which helps the retention of the denture but the rocking of the denture still resorbs the underlying bone
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Cobalt Chrome – A strong, yet discrete light metal framework that allows less coverage of the mouth, good for patients with strong gag reflexes and to maintain taste sensation. Needs healthy remaining teeth. This type of denture is partly supported with teeth (or implants) as well as the gums. This means that the forces of the muscles during eating are partly distributed between the gums and the teeth, hence the amount of bone resorption with this kind of denture is reduced as the load on the bone is less.These dentures generally use metal connectors so that they are less bulky, and sometimes with the use of precision attachments can be incredibly well supported in the mouth.They cause much less damage to the underlying tissue as the load is reduced from the gums.
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Valplast – A new, unbreakable, flexible nylon-type denture with high comfort and cosmetic advantages. These dentures are fantastic for single tooth replacements as an interim comfortable replacement denture. Can't add other teeth to it.
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Implant retained dentures – Have the additional advantage of providing solid support to prevent your dentures becoming loose. Though this is not a new concept it is becoming progressively more popoular with the introduction of mini-implants.
There are different options available here at SW1 Dental Studio which we will discuss the pros and cons of each with you to determine the one that will best suit your needs.
The latest advances in materials can help denture wearing easier for patients. The use of soft linings can help reduce the discomfort in some cases, high impact acrylics are useful for those who may suffer from fractured dentures, aesthetic tooth or gum coloured clasps can be used to improve the retention of dentures without showing grey metal in the aesthetic zone, flexible dentures can be used to help retention by engaging undercuts, and precision attachments can help many patients to reduce movement of the dentures.
However well-fitting the dentist has made the dentures, they can never provide the biting and chewing efficiency of natural teeth. At SW1 Dental Studio we can help replace the missing teeth using a variety of means, dentures being one of them.
Dentures at SW1 Dental Studio
