What are Partial Dentures?

Partial dentures can be limiting in a number of different ways. I just described one in the previous video where we’ve got metal clips and clasps that are used to engage the adjacent teeth in that area. Those serve as the anchors. Whether it’s a tooth that serves as an anchor or in the case of partials, that’s what we’ve got. 

We’ve only got teeth to serve as the anchors. Dental implants are an adjunct for helping a partial to be stable and stabilized. So, some of the negatives of partials are that the metal clip will rub on the teeth, could cause some sensitivity, and could cause some wear over time. And that’s really what we see. And so when we’re using dental implants to help retain a partial because that’s what we would do, we would do that for a number of different reasons. 

One of them is to preserve the integrity of the teeth that are still remaining in the mouth. So, with that question, there’s a lot to it because the specific situation is really important to the patient. And that’s one of the reasons that we think it’s so important to offer no charge consultations, free consultations, where we can do an evaluation. 

But in some cases, partial dentures are a fine solution for patients and we don’t have to do anything surgically. Some patients who may be watching us right now may have partial dentures they say, yes, they’re feeling fine. Over time, the body changes, though. So, as the teeth wear further from the partial or even the bone structure can wear down a little bit, and resorption melts away, and they don’t quite fit as well as they used to. 

So either a new partial denture, a relining of the partial refitting of the partial denture, or even employing at a certain point some dental implants for adjunct retentive features to snap in or snap out a partial that can be a real benefit to them.