When
only a few teeth are missing, the first choice of most of the patients would be
fixed teeth(bridge or implant). Unfortunately, bridge or implants are not
solutions for all cases, as bridges require abutments (teeth present on both
end) and implants require sufficient quality and quantity of bone to place
implant, which are not fulfilled in some cases. Bridge can replace only limited
number of teeth. Replacing too many lost teeth with a bridge would place
tremendous unhealthy force on the remaining teeth. So for that case, a cast
partial removable denture would be the ideal solution.
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Removable cast partial denture
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The
removable partial denture can be placed and removed by the patient and can be
made to replace many missing teeth.
A
removable cast partial denture is useful for a person missing some teeth, but
still having a number of natural teeth.
This
device is also called a removable dental prosthesis, and is a means by which
artificial replacement teeth are held in the mouth. The dental prosthesis is
commonly kept in place by means of clasps. These are thin finger like
structure, usually made of a special resilient metal alloy or sometimes
plastic, that rest upon and wrap around some remaining natural teeth. Clasps
keep the prosthesis securely in place but still allow a person to easily take
it out for regular cleaning and proper brushing of remaining natural teeth.
Some reasons for having a
partial denture made
♦ Replace missing teeth
♦Improve
ability to chew more naturally
♦Chew
food with confidence
♦Make it
possible to eat certain favorite foods
♦Maintain
a healthier and socially acceptable mouth
♦Aids in
the preservation of remaining natural teeth
♦Help
prevent or treat problems of the TMJ
♦Often
improve speech
♦Helps
develop a more pleasing and confident smile
♦Support
the face, often with a more youthful appearance
♦Enhance
self esteem
♦An
economical way to replace missing teeth
♦Partial
dentures are usually easy to repair if they are broken
♦Esthetics
and the conventional partial denture
Generally,
clasp design is reasonably esthetic, and often it is possible for them not to
be seen. However, depending upon partial denture design, which is based on
mouth conditions, there may be some show of clasps. Often this is not an
appearance problem. However, if avoiding an unacceptable show of clasps would
compromise optimal partial denture design, various special attachments may
sometimes be employed to do away with conventional clasps. These attachments
are more technically complex and often are referred to as precision or
semi-precision attachments.
