This patient came to Dr. Vuong not happy with the appearance of her current partial denture. It was also not fitting well, neither was it esthetically pleasing. She also had a lower partial denture which didn't fit at all and was painful when worn. It was rocking during chewing. The bite was off. For these reasons, she wasn't wearing the lower partial denture. She wanted new teeth so she could look and chew better!
There are many treatment options for missing teeth for a case such as this, from fixed partial dentures such as porcelain-fused-to-metal bridges, zirconia-framework fixed bridges, multiple implants to replace many of the missing teeth, precision attachment removable partial dentures, or traditional metal framework removable partial dentures. The final decision is usually made by the patient, guided by the outcomes that both the patient and the dentist want to achieve.
This patient elected to have new removable partial dentures made. We treated a few large cavities. While this case has room for esthetic improvements, it is okay with this patient. We worked with many limiting factors due to budget constraints. We had to use metal frameworks for rigidity and support of many missing teeth. We did two front crowns and made rest seats in them (places for partial framework to hook onto). We could have made crowns for her back teeth to bring out the arch for a more beautiful and wider smile. Her bite was another complicated factor. Nevertheless, we achieved the result we both wanted! You can see noticeable major improvements! Most importantly, the patient can now eat her favorite food without the partial dentures falling up and down or moving! :)
Less lower teeth showing makes for a more pleasing smile... :)
Many who have to wear partial dentures don't like metal hooks to show when they smile. They may have the entire partial denture made in plastic, which looks great but they can not eat and chew variety of food with it. In cases where the entire removable partial can not be made with the flexible plastic material, a metal framework is needed for rigidity and support so that it can take the work load when you chew. Here we could see that the metal hooks were needed, but we incorporated the plastic esthetic design into the framework so that it blends right in with the gum tissue color. There are many other advanced options, known generally as precision attachment partial dentures, however, the combination of metal framework and esthetic hooks is a very popular option for many of our patients.
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