Restore and sustain your stunning, healthy smile with long-lasting partial dentures

Today, many individuals who are missing several teeth can benefit from numerous options to fill those gaps in their smiles. Additionally, options for tooth replacement have come a long way. The modern partial dentures designed and placed at the office of Chase Patton, DDS in Columbia, Missouri, are made from advanced materials and by using exacting techniques. So, you end up with teeth that look, feel, and function indistinguishably from natural teeth that are healthy and not marred by signs of damage.

What are partial dentures?

As their name suggests, “partials” are appliances that can be used to rebuild a partially broken smile among those patients who still have healthy, remaining teeth. Depending on your needs, this appliance may be designed to fill in the gap left by just one or two teeth. Or, it can be designed to replace several missing teeth. The appliance itself is connected to and gets its support from other healthy teeth. So, your suitability for a partial and its specific design depends on factors such as the condition of the remaining teeth, how they fit together, and the location of those teeth.

How do partials compare to dental bridges?

The partial denture is an affordable alternative to the dental bridge. Bridges, too, rely on their neighboring teeth for support. They are also effective at replacing one tooth or a few consecutive missing teeth. However, the bridge is a “fixed” option. The replacement teeth are fused to a few dental crowns. When placed as a single unit on the neighboring anchor teeth, this dental bridge fills in the gap. To make room for the crowns, the anchor teeth that hold the bridge in place must be slightly reduced. Partial dentures are considered a “removable” prosthesis in that they are designed to slip in and out of the mouth. Bridges are generally non-removable and cemented onto the teeth closest to the gap.