Dentures

Losing your natural teeth is a common issue. If a patient loses several teeth, and fixed dental prostheses are not an option, then removable dentures come into play as a great option for bringing back a healthy bite and a beautiful smile.

Removable or combined dentures enable excellent jaw rehabilitation and restore normal speech function and correct bite, while providing an aesthetically-pleasing appearance.

Kustec Polyclinic makes removable dentures such as fully removable (acrylic) dentures, partially removable dentures, and Wironit (partial, metal) dentures.

Occasionally, it is necessary to reline or repair dentures.

Dentures are designed to match the shape and colour of the natural teeth and tissue they replace.Removable dentures are recommended when there are no teeth remaining, or the number and location of the remaining teeth is not suitable or cannot hold a fixed prosthesis.

State-of-the-art solutions now include fixing a bar over implants that is then anchored to the denture, giving the patient with a removable denture a sense of security characteristic of a fixed prosthesis.

Combined dentures are only partially fixed into place, while the rest of the prosthesis is removable and has to be taken out for the purpose of maintaining good oral hygiene.

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Types of dentures
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Removable complete dentures
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Removable complete dentures are designed to be a substitute for all the teeth of an arch, most commonly used when implant placement, and loading onto them, is not possible. Without the support of existing teeth or the possibility to place implants, the dentures rest directly on the gum that covers the bone.

They consist of a base which holds the prosthetic teeth.

The base is made out of pink acrylic (plastic) to imitate the surrounding gum colour, thus improving the aesthetic effect.

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Partial dentures

Partial dentures are recommended for patients whose remaining natural teeth do not provide sufficient support for a fixed denture.

They are made entirely out of acrylic and replace missing teeth and their support structures.

Partial dentures are held in place by wire clasps that attach to the remaining natural teeth.

Today, acrylic partial dentures are typically used as a temporary solution. For example, to allow the wound to heal after tooth extraction. A possible better alternative are Wironit partial dentures or, of course, implants.

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Wironit dentures – acrylic partial dentures with a metal base

Wironit dentures are an excellent alternative in case implants or prostheses are not an option.They offer a higher-quality solution than acrylic partial dentures due to the alloy material used for the base. This material is considerably more durable, and allows for a less bulky design.This reduces the surface area of the dentures coming into contact with the soft tissues of the mouth, such as the palate and the area under the tongue, making it more comfortable to wear and easier to adjust to.Apart from being more durable, they are also more stable in the mouth as they are attached to the adjacent teeth using strong cast clasps. These clasps are carefully fastened to the anchoring teeth, distributing chewing forces across all teeth and bone evenly.

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Snap-in dentures – implant-supported dentures

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Snap-in dentures are more stable than removable dentures, and since they are attached to implants, they help prevent further bone resorption.

They offer an ideal solution in cases when adding more implants is not possible due to bone resorption. Snap-in dentures attach to implants in your jawbone, with special attachments snapped onto the implants that later on hold the dentures in place.

These attachments can be ball- or bar-shaped. Snap-in dentures are easy to take out, which facilitates cleaning and hygiene, and besides providing stability, they also help preserve the jaw bone.

Inserting implants into the jawbone prevents deterioration of the surrounding bone by encouraging blood circulation in the bone and stimulating it by applying pressure on the dentures.

This stops the bone from deteriorating and losing volume, which enables the gum tissue to maintain its shape and height.

Implant-supported dentures or snap-in dentures allow for greater stability in the mouth, which makes patients feel more at ease and confident when speaking and eating.

Snap-in dentures facilitate oral hygiene because you can simply snap them off and put them back in.

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Fixed dentures

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Fixed dentures are a high-quality, reliable and long-term solution. This option is recommended for patients who have to replace all of their teeth, but have sufficient bone mass for placing implants to support fixed dentures.

If the patient has remaining natural teeth and does not require complete dentures, it is possible to fix partial dentures to the patient’s natural teeth.

Written by: dr. med. dent. Ivan Kustec