A denture is a removable appliance that replaces missing teeth and surrounding tissue allowing patients to enjoy a healthy diet and smile with confidence. Innovations in dentistry combined with modern light-weight materials mean current dentures are not only comfortable but also closely resemble natural teeth.
There are the 3 main types of dentures:
1. Complete or full dentures are for those patients who have lost all of their teeth on either or both of the arches. These take some time to get used to as their adjustment depends on a number of factors like the oral cavity muscles, saliva, bone & tongue.
2. Removable or partial dentures are used to correct gaps when only few of the teeth are missing. These dentures are fastened to the natural teeth using metal attachments. Partial dentures help in maintaining tooth alignment by preventing the other natural teeth from shifting out of position. There are different kinds of removable dentures – Acrylic, cast metal and flexible valplast to name a few.
3. Immediate dentures as the name suggests are placed at once, right after the patient gets his tooth or teeth removed. They can either be full or partial dentures and adjustments are done once the healing process has completed.