Replacing lost teeth is particularly important for your health and appearance. When teeth are missing, the facial muscles lose their tone. As a result, not only is your ability to chew food (chewing function) and pronounce words (speech function) reduced, but your appearance suffers too, as the face takes on an aged look.
A denture is an appliance designed to replace lost teeth while restoring chewing function, speech and facial aesthetics.
Dentures can be full or partial.
- Full dentures are used to replace all the missing teeth in one or both jaws.
- Partial dentures are used to fill the gaps left after some of the natural teeth have been removed.
They are held in place on the remaining teeth by metal clasps (hooks) or by attachments.
The parts of the denture that replace the missing teeth are the denture plate and the artificial teeth. The plate forms the base of the denture and can be made of acrylic (plastic) or metal. The artificial teeth are made of acrylic and are chosen to match the colour, shape and size of your natural teeth, giving the best possible aesthetic result.