Removable prostheses

These prostheses can be removed by the patient without the help of the dentist.

If all the patient's teeth are missing, a complete prosthesis (conventional complete denture) is the solution.

The creation of a complete denture becomes necessary if the patient has no teeth at all. These prostheses are kept in place by the vacuum effect, and wearing them may put a considerable psychic burden on the patient who may consider this condition to be the sign of aging. Initially, prostheses may be inconvenient to wear, but this feeling will cease. Unfortunately, because of the continuous degradation and atrophy of the toothless alveolar crest, rebasing the complete denture is necessary once in every 1 to 2 years, and replacement is required every 5 to 7 years.

A partial prosthesis (partial denture) is used if the patient has a few teeth, but their number is not enough for a fixed dental prosthesis. This kind of prosthesis is created on a metal plate, which is covered with plastic that has the same color as the gum of the patient. The removable partial denture (the so-called metal framework) is attached to the remaining abutment teeth with clasps or hidden retainers (invisible from the outside), or onto the remaining teeth with the help of telescope crowns.

It should be noted here that because of the widespread use of implantation techniques, these kinds of prostheses are less and less frequently applied.