What Are Dentures?

Dentures are a prosthetic device built with the aim of replacing missing teeth. It is a set of artificial or false teeth that help to perform the role of the natural teeth that have been lost due to some reason. The traditional class of dentures are removable in nature. The patient can remove them before going to sleep, and replace them in the morning. Nowadays there are several improvised designs in dentures, including such ones that are partially fixed with the help of bonding onto the teeth, or with dental implants.

Dentures can primarily be divided into two categories – partial dentures, and complete dentures. Partial dentures can be further sub-divided into removable and fixed partial dentures. The removable partial dentures are used for such patients who have just a few teeth missing on a single arch. The fixed partial dentures are also known as “Crown and Bridge.” The fixed partial dentures cost more than the removable ones, but also offer a better dental stability to the patient.

Complete dentures, also known as full dentures, are used by patients who have all their teeth missing on a particular arch, whether upper arch or the lower arch. The denture technology has improvised over the years, and now the patients can have better fitting, better looking, and longer lasting dentures with a higher stability in the mouth. The advent of dental implant technology has helped the patients who are in need of dentures. The dentures can stay put in their place in a more stable manner when they are supported by dental implants.

However, dentures are not the most ideal solution for replacing the missing teeth. Dental implant technology has advanced greatly in the last two decades and has proven to be superior to the dentures. Implants offer superior patient comfort, better aesthetics and better functionality compared to dentures.

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