Partial Dentures

The loss of one or more teeth can make it difficult to eat and be very embarrassing.  Partial dentures are removable prosthetic appliances that clip onto your remaining teeth and "fill in the gaps" to replace the missing ones.  
Partial dentures allow you to eat food properly, especially in cases where posterior (back) teeth are missing.  They also allow you to avoid the embarrassing situation that a missing front tooth or teeth cause in social situations.

There are two common types of partials
​that are available to the patient.

This image shows the same case in both
Cast and Acrylic partial dentures.

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Cast partial dentures are denture teeth that are held together by a cast metal connector and clip to your natural teeth much in the same way as a retainer would.  
The advantages to this type of prosthetic is that the palate of the patient is left open as much as possible allowing taste sensations and the feeling of hot and cold on the roof of the mouth to be as natural as possible.  
The metal on a cast partial denture is kept very thin which most patients find preferable compared to acrylic partial dentures, which have to have a certain thickness to keep their strength and prevent breakage.

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Acrylic partial dentures are denture teeth held together with acrylic and with metal clips that attach to your natural teeth.  
The advantages to acrylic partial dentures is that there is very little metal in the mouth making the appliance blend in with the oral tissues.  
The addition of one or more teeth in the future is made very easy with an acrylic partial denture and can often be done the same day or the next day.
Disadvantages include full coverage of the palate and the acrylic has to be thicker than the cast partial denture to keep its strength and resist cracking.