Implants and other fixed options to replace missing teeth;
A quick education as to what the terminology means;
1. Partial dentures; ‘Removable appliance’ usually made out of chrome and acrylic. Partial dentures really on the remaining teeth to support the chrome frame work via clasps (being the little hooks around the teeth) and backings on these remaining teeth. Partial dentures move around and get food caught around the denture and under the denture. If you have no front teeth to hold the denture in place it rocks up and down at the front.
2. Tooth supported bridges; I explain bridges very simply, as literally like a bridge across a river, you need support poles either side of the gap, and when the gap is very long you need support poles in the middle as well. Much like a long span river crossing without the support poles in the middle the bridge will break under load, or the support poles collapse. Tooth supported bridges are much like having real teeth, you can function on them the same, you don’t have to take them out, they do not move around. Tooth supported bridges are a ‘fixed appliance’. Tooth supported bridges are made out of gold and ceramic or all ceramic and have a very good aesthetic appearance like real teeth.
3. Implants; Implants are a titanium alloy screw that is placed into the bone and the bone then bonds to the implant. It acts much like replacing the roots of teeth. We then screw attachments to the implant like crowns or bridges etc.
4. Implant supported dentures; Implant supported dentures have the same issues as normal partial dentures, but are just more comfortable, due to the fact that we can add more clasps as such by having special connectors that clip onto the implants which are housed on the under surface of the denture. They are still a ‘removable appliance’ and have the same sort of strength for function as dentures.
5. Implant supported bridges; We use implant supported bridges when we don’t have any teeth to act as support poles like traditional tooth supported bridges. Like tooth supported bridges they act the same as having real teeth, they don’t move, you can function on them almost the same as having real teeth, and they are a ‘fixed appliance’. Implant supported bridges can be made out of gold and ceramic, all ceramic or a hybrid of titanium alloy framework and acrylic teeth. Once again all have a very nice aesthetic appearance.
Dr Adam Alford graduated from the University of Sydney, Australia, in 2000 with honours. Dr Alford has worked extensively in Cosmetic and Implant Dental practices in Australia and the UK. He has a special interest in, general dentistry, preventative dentistry, children’s dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, dental implants and tooth whitening. Dr Alford is the author of the article and he maintains a General Dental, Cosmetic and Implant Dental Surgery in the Sydney CBD, http://www.adamalford.com.au . Webmasters are free to reprint this article provided that it is not edited, the authors information is included, and the links are included as live links. .