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Posts Tagged ‘Partial Dentures’
Removable Partial Denture Questions and Answers.
Some of the questions and answers about removable partial dentures.
How do you wear a removable partial denture?
Removable partial dentures usually consist of replacement teeth attached to pink or gum-colored plastic bases, which are connected by metal framework. Removable partial dentures attach to your natural teeth with metal clasps or devices called precision attachments. Dentures with precision attachments generally cost more than those with metal clasps, and bridges are permanently fixed to your teeth. Precision attachments are generally more esthetic than metal clasps, and they are nearly invisible. Crowns on your natural teeth may improve the fit of a removable partial denture, and they are usually required with attachments. Consult your dentist to find out which type is right for you. Implants can also be used to fill the gaps instead. These are a good solution if you have enough bone or can have bone added because they won’t take out the other teeth if they fail.
Nothing in dentistry lasts forever, but in terms of bridges, the longer they are, the more of a chance they have to fail. The key to maintaining bridges and partial dentures is care. They can last 10 years, and some people retain them for upwards of 30 years. One disadvantage is that it is difficult to clean under the bridge, and if one of the teeth supporting the bridge gets wrecked, either from decay, breaks, or it comes unstuck from the bridge, it may result in bad outcomes for the other teeth. Also, food can get stuck under them, and if not cleaned properly, you get decay where your denture sits as plaque festers. They often need to be replaced or relined every so often..
How long will it take to get used to wearing a denture?
Ask your dentist for specific details about wearing dentures. Find out how long he or she prefers you to wait after your tooth is removed before the denture is placed. Some dentists believe that very little waiting time is necessary, while others prefer you wait until the gums are fully healed before getting a final fitting. Don’t worry about being without teeth for awhile — it will not cause any serious harm.
For the first few weeks, your new partial denture may feel awkward or bulky. You may feel like your mouth is very full and you’ll have the impulse to take them out. However, your mouth will eventually become accustomed to wearing it. Inserting and removing the denture will require some practice. Follow all instructions given by your dentist.
Your denture should fit into place with relative ease. Don’t worry — you will get used to the feel of having them in your mouth. Never force the partial denture into position by biting down. This could bend or break the clasps. When the dentist first inserts the dentures it will feel very awkward. Once at home, try to do other things to take your mind off of the dentures.
Eating with these new teeth may be a frustrating experience at first. Continue to try to eat soft foods while you get used to them. Take very small bites and relearn the chewing process to fit your new teeth. You’ll find that your tongue will be busier than ever, helping you move the food around in your mouth. Eat as much as you can with the teeth in. If you get very frustrated, excuse yourself and go remove the teeth and then return and finished the meal. Try to keep them in longer at the next meal, and you’ll soon find you’ve made it through the entire dinner.
Use a denture glue to help you hold them in if you have to. Some denture wearers never have to use anything to secure the teeth, while others have to use the glue daily. Loose dentures are even harder to get used to, so you want them to feel tight and secure. Experiment with several kinds of denture adhesive until you find the one you like. Just use a tiny bit at first to see how much works for you.
Ask your dentist what he/she recommends as a time out or resting period for your mouth. Some dentists advise their patients to remove the dentures nightly to let the mouth rest. Others say it is okay to wear them all of the time. If you take yours out to sleep, get used to the routine of brushing them and putting them back in the first thing every morning. Always keep them in a covered container filled with water when you are not wearing them.
Can I make minor adjustments or repairs to my denture?
You can do serious harm to your denture and to your health by trying to adjust or repair your denture by yourself. A denture that is not made to fit precisely by a dentist can cause irritation and sores. A person who lacks the proper training will not be able to reconstruct the denture. This can cause greater damage to the denture and may cause problems in your mouth. Using a do-it-yourself kit can damage the appliance beyond repair. Glues sold over-the-counter often contain harmful chemicals and should not be used on a denture.
If your denture no longer fits properly, if it breaks, cracks or chips, or if one of the teeth becomes loose, see your dentist immediately. In many cases, dentists can make necessary adjustments or repairs, often on the same day. Complicated repairs may require that the denture be sent to a special dental laboratory.
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More about dentures:
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. There are two main categories of dentures, depending on whether they are used to replace missing teeth on the mandibular arch or the maxillary arch.
Patients can become entirely edentulous (without teeth) due to many reasons, the most prevalent being removal because of dental disease typically relating to oral flora control, i.e. periodontal disease and tooth decay. Other reasons include tooth developmental defects caused by severe malnutrition, genetic defects such as Dentinogenesis imperfecta, trauma, or drug use.
Advantages
Dentures can help patients in a number of ways:
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 – Patients 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. Fixed partial dentures, also known as “crown and bridge”, are made from crowns that are fitted on the remaining teeth to act as abutments and pontics made from materials to resemble the missing teeth. Fixed bridges are more expensive than removable appliances but are more stable.
Complete dentures
Conversely, complete dentures or full dentures are worn by patients who are missing all of the teeth in a single arch (i.e. the maxillary (upper) or mandibular (lower) arch).
Prosthodontic principles of dentures
Support
Support is the principle that describes how well the underlying mucosa (oral tissues, including gums and the vestibules) keeps the denture from moving vertically towards the arch in question, and thus being excessively depressed and moving deeper into the arch. For the mandibular arch, this function is provided by the gingiva (gums) and the buccal shelf (region extending laterally (beside) from the posterior (back) ridges), whereas in the maxillary arch, the palate joins in to help support the denture. The larger the denture flanges (part of the denture that extends into the vestibule), the better the support. This last sentence requires comment and correction, it reveals some misunderstanding by the author as flanges usually provide stability and not support. Indeed, long flanges beyond the functional depth of the sulcus are a common error in denture construction, often (but not always) leading to movement in function.
Stability.
Stability is the principle that describes how well the denture base is prevented from moving in the horizontal plane, and thus from sliding side to side or front and back. The more the denture base (pink material) runs in smooth and continuous contact with the edentulous ridge (the hill upon which the teeth used to reside, but now consists of only residual alveolar bone with overlying mucosa), the better the stability. Of course, the higher and broader the ridge, the better the stability will be, but this is usually just a result of patient anatomy, barring surgical intervention (bone grafts, etc.).
Retention.
Retention is the principle that describes how well the denture is prevented from moving vertically in the opposite direction of insertion. The better the topographical mimicry of the intaglio (interior) surface of the denture base to the surface of the underlying mucosa, the better the retention will be (in removable partial dentures, the clasps are a major provider of retention), as surface tension, suction and just plain old friction will aid in keeping the denture base from breaking intimate contact with the mucosal surface. It is important to note that the most critical element in the retentive design of a full maxillary denture is a complete and total border seal (complete peripheral seal) in order to achieve ‘suction’. The border seal is composed of the edges of the anterior and lateral aspects AND the posterior palatal seal. The posterior palatal seal design is accomplished by covering the entire hard palate and extending not beyond the soft palate and ending 1–2 mm from the vibrating line.
As mentioned above, implant technology can vastly improve the patient’s denture-wearing experience by increasing stability and saving his or her bone from wearing away. Implant can also help with the retention factor. Instead of merely placing the implants to serve as blocking mechanism against the denture pushing on the alveolar bone, small retentive appliances can be attached to the implants that can then snap into a modified denture base to allow for tremendously increased retention. Options available include a metal hader bar or precision balls attachments, among other things.
Complications and recommendations.
The fabrication of a set of complete dentures is a challenge for any dentist, including those who are experienced. There are many axioms in the production of dentures that must be understood; ignorance of one axiom can lead to failure of the denture case. In the vast majority of cases, complete dentures should be comfortable soon after insertion, although almost always at least two adjustment visits will be necessary to remove sore spots. One of the most critical aspects of dentures is that the impression of the denture must be perfectly made and used with perfect technique to make a model of the patient’s edentulous (toothless) gums. The dentist must use a process called border molding to ensure that the denture flanges are properly extended. An array of problems may occur if the final impression of the denture is not made properly. It takes considerable patience and experience for a dentist to know how to make a denture, and for this reason it may be in the patient’s best interest to seek a specialist, either a prosthodontist or perhaps even a denturist, to make the denture. A general dentist may do a good job, but only if he or she is meticulous and usually he or she must be experienced.
The maxillary denture (the top denture) is usually relatively straightforward to manufacture so that it is stable without slippage.
A lower full denture should or must be supported by 2-4 implants placed in the lower jaw for support. A lower denture supported by 2-4 implants is a far superior product than a lower denture without implants, because
1) It is much more difficult to get adequate suction on the lower jaw.
2) The functioning of the tongue tends to break that suction, and
3) Without teeth the ridge tends to resorb and provides the denture less and less stability over time. It is routine to be able to bite into an apple or corn-on-the-cob with a lower denture anchored by implants. Without implants, it is quite difficult or even impossible to do so.
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.
Source: www.wikipedia.com
References
- The inventions that changed the world, Reader’s Digest (1982) [Portuguese edition of 1983]
- Moriyama N, Hasegawa M. The history of the characteristic Japanese wooden denture. , Bull Hist Dent. 1987 Apr;35(1):9-16.
- John Woodforde, The Strange Story of False Teeth, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1968
- S. E. Eden, W. J. S. Kerr and J. Brown, “A clinical trial of light cure acrylic resin for orthodontic use,” Journal of Orthodontics, Vol. 29, No. 1, 51-55, March 2002
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply.
Denture Reline
After a new denture has been inserted, it ought to retain in the mouth quite nicely due to the fact that the shape of the inside of the denture base conforms closely to the shape of the gums. (Please note that good retention or suction of the denture does not necessarily mean that the same denture is stable.) Unfortunately, the longer you wear the denture, the more your gums change underneath it and the looser it gets. In order to restore the retentive qualities of the denture, and to prevent the production of flabby gum tissue under it, you should have the denture professionally relined at least every two years.
There are actually three types of denture relines: hard, soft and temporary.
Hard denture reline
This is the kind of reline that should be done on all full dentures every two years. The dentist removes some of the plastic from the inside of the denture and fills the denture with a soft material (think of soft putty) which, when replaced in the mouth, conforms to the contours of the tissues, then hardens to a rubbery consistency. When the denture is removed, the denture now contains an accurate impression of the shape of the gums. The denture is sent to the lab, and the impression material is replaced with pink, hard acrylic in exactly the same shape as the original impression material. When returned, the denture now conforms to the contours of your mouth and should make maximum contact with the tissues producing maximum suction. In our office, the impression is scheduled for first thing in the morning. The patient goes home without the denture, but returns later the same day (usually early afternoon) for the insert (fitting appointment).
Soft denture reline
Occasionally, a patient finds that he cannot wear the denture because his gums are too tender, and he keeps getting sore spots. In cases where the patient is unable to wear ordinary dentures because of tender gums, the denture can be relined with a material that remains somewhat pliable for a year or two before it needs replacement. The consistency of this material can range from waxy to hard rubber, and is generally less likely to give the patient sore spots than ordinary pink acrylic.
Unfortunately, by the time that a patient resorts to a soft reline material to make the denture wearable, it usually means that factors other than simple sore spots are partly to blame for the difficulties that the patient is experiencing wearing the dentures. These could include an overbuilt denture or a resorbed ridge which is so unstable that the patient must keep constant force on the teeth to keep them in place. Both of these conditions can be corrected, sometimes with less expensive simple surgery or sometimes with much more expensive implant retained dentures.
Temporary denture relines (Therapeutic relines)
Frequently, by the time a patient with an old denture finally shows up at the dentist’s office looking for a new denture, the dentures have not been serviced for such a long time that the gums are in terrible condition. They may be red, swollen and quite misshapen. Relining the old denture, or building a new one using impressions taken while the gums are in such poor condition would lead to a denture that would simply perpetuate the problem with the new appliance.
When faced with situations like this, a dentist will frequently resort to a temporary, or palliative (medicated) reline material to allow the inflammation to subside. This reline makes the denture fit much more tightly, and is usually soft and pliable. It will not last more than a few months, but the patient wears it for a few weeks until the gums return to a more normal state. After this happens, then the patient is ready for his new denture or hard reline.
Partial denture – The difference between full and partial denture
* Dentures are delicate and fragile. Try not to drop them when you’re not wearing them.
* Brush your dentures regularly. This will prevent the occurrence of stains and plaque. Use a soft-bristled toothbrush to clean your dentures.
* Some denture-wearers use mild hand soap or dish-washing liquid to clean their dentures. These are acceptable alternatives to regular dentures cleaning agents. Avoid using powdered cleansers and bleach as these are too abrasive on dentures.
* Do not let the dentures dry out when you’re not wearing them. It may lose its shape as a result. Soak it in a dental cleanser solution or water instead. The difference between full and partial dentures:
The loss of a tooth or multiple teeth can be a devastating occurrence and has the potential to create a significant impact on the well-being of your mouth and subsequent overall health. Restricted ability to perform natural functions, a weakened jawbone, permanent damage to remaining teeth, and an aesthetically lacking smile are just a few of the changes which may occur after tooth loss.
An effective and popular solution to this problem can be found in the use of dentures, either in full or partial format.
A full denture is placed in the mouth after any remaining teeth have been removed and tissues have healed. Healing can take several months, during which time you are without teeth. The complete full denture replaces all the teeth in the mouth.
An immediate full denture is inserted after the remaining teeth have been removed or all teeth lost, allowing the surrounding area of gum and tissue to heal while the denture is in place.
After tissue and gums have healed, the denture may need to be reshaped or relined as it can become loose during the healing process.
Partial dentures fill in the spaces where there are missing teeth and prevent other teeth from changing position. Partial dentures rest on a metal framework that is attached to your natural remaining teeth. Crowns can sometimes be placed on some of you natural teeth and serve as anchors for the denture. Partial dentures offer a removable alternative to bridges.
A new denture will not last forever as the mouth and face change shape and the denture will either have to be replaced or realigned.
There are different types of dentures depending on the individual need and variations on the structure are made in accordance to your specific requirements.
See a dentist to find the best type of denture for you, and we can advise on every aspect of your dental treatment in the quest to find the most elegant solution to your problem. Full or partial dentures, upper or lower dentures, conventional or immediate dentures – we have the answer to your needs.
Regular dental check-ups are also important. Your dentist needs to examine your dentures to see if they fit properly and if the dentures need to be relined, rebased, or replaced due to normal wear. Loose and ill-fitting dentures breed infections and mouth sores, so the minute you feel discomfort in your dentures, visit your dentist immediately. For more information about dentures and partials, consult with our Fort Lauderdale dentist for details.
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