Dentures (more commonly known as false teeth) are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth. Conventional dentures are removable, however there are many different denture designs, some which rely on bonding or clasping onto teeth or denture implants. There are two main categories of dentures, depending on whether they are used to replace missing teeth on the bottom (mandibular arch) or the top (maxillary arch).

Patients can become entirely edentulous (without teeth) due to many reasons, the most prevalent being removal because of dental disease typically related to periodontal disease and tooth decay. Other reasons include tooth development defects caused by severe malnutrition, genetic defects, trauma or drug use.

Advantages:

1. Mastication – chewing ability is improved by replacing edentulous areas with denture teeth.

2. Aesthetics – the presence of teeth provide a natural facial appearance, and wearing a denture to replace missing teeth provides support for the lips and cheeks and corrects the collapsed appearance that occurs after losing teeth.

3. Phonetics – by replacing missing teeth, especially the anteriors, patients are better able to speak by improving pronunciation of those words containing sibilants or fricatives.

4. Self-Esteem – Patientss feel better about themselves.

Types of dentures

Removable partial dentures

Removable partial dentures are for patients who are missing some of their teeth on a particular arch. The are made to clamp/attach to your natural teeth to complete the arch.

Complete dentures

Conversely, complete dentures or full dentures are worn by people who are missing all of the teeth in a single arch (i.e. the maxillary/upper or mandibular/lower arch.