DenTURE
Dentures are removable prosthesis designed to replace 1 or more missing teeth. It is also a suitable option for edentulous patients who have lost all their teeth.
What are the types of dentures?
1. Acrylic Denture
2. Cobalt Chrome Denture
3. Flexible Denture
Acrylic Denture
Acrylic denture is the most common and widely used dentures. It is affordable and the most cost effective. It is suitable for all kinds for situation and can last for many years if well taken care of.
The advantage of acrylic denture besides the affordable pricing, it can be easily adjusted and addition of extra teeth due to lost of natural teeth over the years is possible to a certain extend.
The downside of having acrylic denture is definitely its comfort. As it may not adapt well to the gums, it can cause pain and ulcerations. Furthermore, acrylic denture is thick and bulky which not only interfere with speech, but also affect perception of taste and temperature, causing food to be less tasty. If accidentally dropped on the floor, the denture might fracture and needs to be repaired or replaced.
Cobalt Chrome Denture
Cobalt Chrome denture is denture with metal base. It is more durable and is a preferred solution as a permanent denture.
The metal is thin and comfortable in the mouth which also means less interference in speech and the perception of taste as well as temperature is not affected. It is very durable and the metal part doesn’t break even when accidentally dropped on the floor. These dentures take support from remaining teeth by having clasps that hooks on the teeth to maintain its stability.
As clasps are needed for cobalt chrome dentures, there might be metal visible in some area of the mouth especially when the only remaining teeth are the front teeth. If more teeth are lost over the years, additional teeth may or may not be added depending on the location of the missing teeth.
Flexible Denture
Flexible denture is denture that has elasticity. It can be deformed when compressed and will return to original shape when released.
The advantage of having a flexible denture is more apparent when a single missing tooth is to be replaced. Compared to acrylic denture and cobalt chrome denture which will need a large coverage of palate even for a single tooth denture, flexible denture only requires support from neighbouring teeth and can be a fabricated in a small piece without covering the palate. This also means that there will not be speech interference and will not affect taste and temperature perception. Flexible dentures are also very durable and will not break if dropped on the floor. The clasps of these dentures are pink and matches the gum colour which can be inconspicuous even on the front teeth.
The biggest downside of flexible denture is that it is not adjustable and therefore new tooth can’t be added, it can only be replaced. The pink material of the denture may stain over time but it will not affect the quality of the denture.