In the topic #10, the benefits of prevention and treatment of periodontal disease, the unfavourable consequences of “bad” tooth loss and the three basic methods of tooth replacement was discussed. In this topic, we will go into more details about one of the three basic methods of replacing lost teeth. Each method of tooth replacement has its own advantages and disadvantages.
One method of replacing missing teeth is the removeable partial denture or full denture. Depending on your point of view, the fact that an appliance is removeable can either be an advantage or a disadvantage. Many people do not like anything removeable in their mouths and only want fixed ( non-removeable ) restorations to replace missing teeth. Therefore many people view anything removeable as a significant disadvantage to this method of replacing teeth and would not consider using a removeable applicance on a long term basis. This appliance is also larger than the other options to replace missing teeth, which is often viewed as a disadvantage by many people.
However because this replacement of teeth is removeable, it is an advantage when it comes to cleaning one’s teeth in cases where a person lacks the manual dexterity to clean around the fixed options of replacing teeth. If a tooth is lost, it is often easy to add a replacement tooth to the appliance, which is an advantage. However the gums under the removeable denture shrink over the years and requires relines (additional of material under the denture to compensate for the gum shrinkage) every few years, which may be viewed as a disadvantage.
This option is the least costly option in the short term, which may or may not an important factor, depending on the person. Sometimes this option is used as a short term temporary replacement of teeth in preparation for one of the fixed options of tooth replacement. Also this option is often easily reversible, meaning that in many cases, a person can change to one of the other fixed options of tooth replacement, which is an advantage. However the removeable option of replacing teeth does not have the potential to provide as good a cosmetic result than the fixed options of tooth replacement can potentially provide.
Unfortunately a lower complete denture has the highest failure rate of services in dentistry, meaning that many people can not adapt to a lower full denture regardless of how well it is made and simple do not wear the full lower denture often. It is a disadvantage in that not all people can adapt to removeable dentures, which can be loose.
Normally there are also adjustments needed after the removeable appliance(s) are inserted in the mouth, which requires additional office visits for the dentist to make these adjustments. However that disadvantage can often be overcome through the use of implants to stabilize a removeable denture and reduce the number of adjustment appointments needed after the insertion of the removeable appliance(s). Implants will be discussed in a later article.