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Partial Denture Does Not Protect Our Teeth
Partial denture is a removable device to replace one to several missing teeth. It is not only inconvenient, but also has no protection for our teeth when we have a trauma.
Mr. Hou lost 2 bottom front teeth in his 20s. Since then he had used a partial denture. In his 40s, he had an accident, which made the neighboring teeth (Fig.1 #23 and 26) become loose and reddish (>). The loose teeth were replaced by 2 implants (Fig.2 arrowheads). A few months later, a 4-unit bridge is cemented (Fig.3). The bridge (fixed device) is doing great in 7 years (Fig.4).
Unless partial denture, implant is stronger than our own teeth. In a severe accident, the implant may remain unharmed, while our own teeth may become fractured and/or loose.
Xin Wei, DDS, PhD, MS 1st edition 01/15/2011, last revision 04/21/2018