Introduction
A dental prosthesis serves to replace one or more lost teeth. In dentistry, a rough distinction is made between removable, fixed or combined dentures. Inlays, crowns and bridges belong to the group of fixed dentures. Partial dentures and total dentures belong to the removable forms of dental prosthesis. The decision whether a partial or a total prosthesis has to be made is based on the number of missing teeth.
Dental prosthesis
Partial dentures
A partial denture can be made in different types and with different materials. The basic version consists of a mixture of synthetic materials to which the teeth to be replaced are applied. The fixation in the jaw is ensured by wire clasps specially made for the individual patient.
In addition, so-called support mandrels can be attached as supporting and holding elements, they offer significantly better stability. In Germany, partial dentures on a plastic base are usually only used as temporary dentures (interim prosthesis). Such a denture may be necessary in the course of surgical tooth removal, it remains in the oral cavity for the entire healing period and is ultimately replaced by a permanent denture.
Model cast partial dentures are made in the dental laboratory on the basis of a jaw model. The treating dentist has to take an impression of the patient’s jaw in advance, which is then cast in the dental laboratory. In the dental laboratory, a metal framework, including the holding and supporting elements, of the later dental prosthesis is then formed.
The advantage of this procedure is the relatively precise adaptation of the prosthesis to the patient’s jaw conditions. This ensures an enormous accuracy of fit, high stability and fewer pressure points. After the metal framework and the holding and supporting elements have been fabricated, the dental technician applies plastic moulded teeth.
In order to avoid later complaints, it is important to keep a distance of several millimeters between the remaining teeth and the model cast partial denture. Partial dentures can also be distinguished by the circumference and position of the teeth to be replaced. Partial dentures are dentures in which a tooth gap is closed. This means that there is at least one natural tooth both in front and behind the tooth to be replaced. A free end prosthesis, on the other hand, ends freely in the temporomandibular joint, and no other natural tooth follows behind the tooth to be replaced.
