If you’ve lost all of your natural teeth, whether from periodontal disease, tooth decay or injury, complete dentures can replace your missing teeth and your smile. Replacing missing teeth will benefit your appearance and your health. Without support from the denture, facial muscles sag, making a person look older. You’ll be able to eat and speak—things that people often take for granted until their natural teeth are lost.


Full Denture - A denture that replaces all the teeth in either the upper or lower dental arch.
There are various terms used in dentistry used to described Full Dentures they include:

1. Conventional Full Denture: A full denture that is made and placed in the patient’s mouth after the remaining teeth are removed and tissues have healed. ( An edentulous arch - no teeth present in a normally healed arch)

2. Immediate Full Dentures: A full denture that is inserted immediately at the time or day teeth are removed. With immediate dentures, the denture wearer does not have to be without teeth during the healing period. However, bones and gums can shrink over time, especially during the period of healing in the first six months after the removal of teeth.

 

3. Implant Supported Full Denture: A full denture that is held in place by implants. This type of denture is useful in case where the bone in the arch is inadequate or the anatomy of the arch does not lend it self to good retention. This type of denture as grown more and more popular with the success of dental implants.

Even if you wear full dentures, you still must take good care of your mouth. Brush your gums, tongue and palate every morning with a soft-bristled brush before you insert your dentures to stimulate circulation in your tissues and help remove plaque.


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Removable Partial Denture - A denture that replaces some but not all the teeth in a dental arch. There are several types of Removable Partial Denture (not to be confused with fixed partial or Bridge), They are used to replaced missing teeth when there are still natural teeth in the arch.

The basic difference between partial dentures is the material used to make the denture and how they are held in place.

1. Conventional Partial Denture: This type of partial is constructed with a metal base that may differ from lab to lab on in terms of material. However the plastic used is a methylmethacyrlate.


2. Precision Attachment Partial Denture: This type of denture differs from Conventional Partial Dentures in that crowns are made on remaining teeth on which the partial attaches. These Partial Denture have the advantage of not requiring clasp that go around the teeth and thus are more esthetic in the front of the mouth.


3. Valplast Partial Denture: Valplast is a flexible, biocompatible, thermoplastic nylon with unique physical and esthetic properties. Its translucency allows the patients natural tissue color to appear through the material. It has the advantage of not showing any metal and as a natural look. Valplast can be used with metal to increase strength and esthetics.


4. Implant Supported Partial Denture: A full denture that is held in place by implants. This type of denture is useful in case where the bone in the arch is inadequate or the anatomy of the arch does not lend it self to good retention. This type of denture as grown more and more popular with the success of dental implants.

5. Transitional Partial Dentures: Transitional Partial Dentures are often used as temporary partial or as a altertive in expensive denture to be used until a more conventional and more durable denture can be purchased. the usually are constructed of denture acyrlic with wire clasp.