The Good About Removable Partial Denture

Dentures are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, and which are supported by surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. According to the dentist beverly hills, there are several types that encompass dentures. Among them are the removable partial denture and the fixed partial denture. Removable partial dentures are for patients who are missing some of their teeth on a particular arch. Fixed partial dentures, better known as "crown and bridge", are made from crowns that are fitted on the remaining teeth to act as abutments and pontics made from materials to resemble the missing teeth. Fixed bridges are more stable compared to removable partial dentures. However, according to the dentist beverly hills, removable partial dentures are more popular because of several features that fixed partial dentures can't achieve.

Removable Partial Denture

A removable partial denture (RPD), according to the dentist beverly hills, is for a partially edentulous dental patient who desires to have replacement teeth for functional or aesthetic reasons. It is also recommended for those who cannot have a bridge (a fixed partial denture) for any number of reasons, such as a lack of required teeth to serve as support for a bridge (i.e. distal abutments) or due to financial limitations. The reason why this type of prosthesis is referred to as a removable partial denture is because patients can remove and reinsert them when required without professional help. Conversely, a "fixed" prosthesis can and should be removed only by a dental professional.

RPD Conditions

Depending on where in the teeth are missing, edentulous situations can be grouped under four different categories, as defined by Dr. Edward Kennedy in his classification of partially edentulous arches. These classifications are as follows:

* Class I: Class I RPD's clasp onto teeth that are more towards the front of the mouth, while replacing the missing more-back-of-the-mouth teeth on both sides with false denture teeth. The denture teeth are composed of either plastic or porcelain.

* Class II: RPD's are fabricated for people who are missing some or all of their posterior teeth on one side (left or right) in a single arch, and there are no teeth behind the edentulous area. Thus, Class II RPD's clasp onto teeth that are more towards the front of the mouth, as well as on teeth that are more towards the back of the mouth.

* Class III: RPD's are fabricated for people who are missing some teeth such that the edentulous area has teeth remaining both posterior and anterior to it. Unlike Class I and Class II RPD's which are both tooth-and-tissue-borne (meaning they both clasp onto teeth, as well as rest on the posterior edentulous area for support), Class III RPD's are strictly tooth-borne, which means they only clasp onto teeth and do not need to rest on the tissue for added support.

* Class IV: If the edentulous area described in Class III crosses the anterior midline (that is, at least both central incisors are missing), the RPD is classified as a Class IV RPD.

Anne Fields, currently working as an assistant professor, has been presently active in the dental organizations over the United States. She has attained credibility and high respect for her vast experience as being one of the top 25 speakers these days. She also writes articles about proper dental hygene in her free time.