COMPLETE DENTURES (CD)
A complete denture (CD) is a prosthetic appliance that replaces all of the missing teeth in the upper or lower jaw. It may have porcelain teeth, plastic teeth or composite resin teeth, and a plastic denture base that is tinted and characterized like natural gum tissue. The denture base may also be made out of metal , or a space age composite resin (Targis) to make it stronger and thinner.
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Fig. 1
Upper Complete Denture. The upper denture needs to cover the roof of the mouth for good support and suction.
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Fig. 2
Lower Complete Denture. Note that it is much smaller than the upper denture in Fig. 1, Therefore, it puts more pressure on the bone, and it is more difficult to wear. It is not possible to maintain good "suction" with the lower denture.
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Fig.3
Upper and Lower Complete Dentures. The thickness of the denture base is dependent on the amount of bone loss. When new replacement dentures are made, the denture base gets thicker to replace the amount of bone that has been lost.
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ADVANTAGES
1. A CD can be done in a relatively short period of time.
2. A CD can replace all the teeth in the upper and lower jaw at one time. Fig. 1 & 2
3. A CD is less expensive than crowns, bridges and implants.
4. Good esthetics can be achieved quickly.
5. We use the best prosthetic teeth available. The teeth are custom built in three separate color layers
for a more natural look.
6. We use customized denture base shades to match your complexion.
7. There are many sizes, shapes and shades of teeth to choose from to achieve “the look” that you
think is natural and pleasing.
DISADVANTAGES
1. Bone Loss...Bone Loss...BONE LOSS!!!
a. In three to five years the denture will need to be relined due to bone loss
b. In 5 to 10 years the denture will need to be replaced due to bone loss and wear of the teeth.
c. The bone shrinks 4 times as fast in the lower jaw vs. the upper jaw.
d. On average, people loose 1mm of bone per year. In 15 to 20 years they may lose all the bone
that was around the roots of the teeth. This results in a very poor foundation for supporting a
denture.
e. The dentures will slide around more as the bone shrinks. Each new denture is less satisfactory
than the one that was made before because the foundation of the jaw is deteriorating.
f. You may lose enough bone in the lower jaw to expose the nerve that supplied the lower teeth.
The denture may pinch or put pressure on this nerve, which may cause a great deal of discomfort.
g. As bone is lost, it becomes necessary to close further to get the teeth to come together. This
causes the jaw to hinge forward making the chin and the nose appear more prominent. It also
causes the lips to appear thinner and the corners of the mouth to turn down. This makes the
the smile and the face look old and tired.
h. Sores may form at the corners of the mouth due a fungal growth from saliva pooling at this
location. People often mistake these sores for dry lips or cold sores.
i. As bone is lost, the upper denture moves up and back, and the lower denture moves down and
back. Often the teeth “disappear” from view, again this is an “old” look.
2. There is 90% decrease in chewing power vs. natural teeth. As the bone shrink chewing power
continues to diminish
3. There is a 90% decrease in chewing efficiency vs. natural teeth, which also gets worse over time.
4. There may be a change in speech due to the added bulk in the mouth. This is usually overcome with
a few weeks of practice.
5. There will be a loss of taste due to the denture insulating the mouth from the heat, cold and texture
of food. This will effect the "perception" of taste, e.g. steak taste like steak, because it feels like
steak; and jello tastes like jello, because it feels like jello. If steak felt like jello, it would not taste
like steak.
6. The dentures should be relined every every 3 to 5 years ,because of the bone loss. Failure to refit
the denture to the mouth will contribute to accelerated bone loss.
7. There may be a loss of confidence in social situations, because of wearing removable dentures.