Non-esthetic and Unhealthy Partial Denture

Mrs. Wu is a attractive woman.  When she smiles, everything changes (Fig.1^).  She wears a partial denture with metal hook (Fig.2: P).  If the metal hook is placed in one tooth behind (* in Fig.2), the cosmetic issue is less.  To make thing worse, there is a gap between the complicated metal and the natural tooth (Fig.3 <).  Food is easily trapped. More metal and plastic is shown when the partial denture is removed from the mouth (Fig.4 ^).  Extra material makes the patient feel not so comfortable.  In a long term, it may cause cavity and gum disease.  In a word, the partial denture is not so esthetic nor healthy.  The drawback is readily remedied by placement of an implant tooth.

Xin Wei, DDS, PhD, MS 1st edition 07/13/2013, last revision 07/14/2013