Oh My God!My apologies for the lateness!! This weekend has been hectic with plenty ceremonies I had to attend :P!
Nevertheless I have not forgotten about you all!
Today’s topic will be about Dental Prosthetics!
A dental prosthesis is a prosthesis put intraorally (in the mouth) to restore intraoral defects such as missing teeth, missing parts of the teeth, and missing soft or hard tissues of the jaw and palate.
Some examples of dental prostheses include:dental implant, crown, bridge, complete dentures, partial dentures, palatal obturator
Basically we have two main types of prosthesis depending on your needs and requirements.
1. Removable prosthesis
2. Fixed prosthesis
Removable prostheses are removable dentures these can be partial dentures for partially edentulous patients and complete dentures for fully edentulous patients. They are relatively cheaper than fixed prostheses, but at times due to constraints like lack of abutment teeth for support or financial limitations, removable prosthesis are usually selected. However it comes with some disadvantages such as functionality and comfort.
One might think , besides chewing and eating, which other functions do teeth have.. well, actually the teeth contribute a lot in the speech , aesthetics ( affect physical appearance) and protecting the oral cavity.
Removable dentures spread their masticatory forces on the gums and oral soft tissues and/or the tooth on which it is supported.
Fixed prostheses are rather preferred because it looks more like a real natural tooth, also because you do not have to remove it at night before sleeping or you don’t have to be scared it falls off while laughing or eating.
There are many types of fixed prostheses such as crown, bridges, Maryland crown and dental implants. These come in different price range according to the material used.
We have metal crowns which can be of precious metal like gold or non precious.
We have metal fused with porcelain crowns, whereby the inner layer of the crown is made of metal and then it has a cover of ceramic.
Then we have full ceramic crowns which again can vary in prices , depending on the grades.
Full ceramic crowns have very similar translucency properties as our Natural God given teeth. Zirconia is the new very popular crowns that patients are loving nowadays, they are made from a very accurate machine called the CAD/CAM.
I will fully elaborate on each prostheses in further posts . A bridge is a fixed partial denture used to replace a missing tooth, and having as support( abutment) the adjacent tooth/ teeth . The replaced missing tooth/teeth will then be the pontic.
Maryland bridge is a resin-retained bridge replacing a missing tooth that relies for its retention on a composite resin cement.
Dental implants
A dental implant is a surgical fixture that is placed into the jawbone and allowed to fuse with the bone over time. The dental implant acts as a replacement for the root of a missing tooth and holds a replacement tooth or bridge. Having a dental implant fused to the jawbone is the closest thing to mimicking a natural tooth because it stands on its own without affecting the adjacent teeth and has great stability. The process of fusion between the dental implant and bone is called “osseointegration.”
Most dental implants are made of titanium which allows them to integrate with bone without being recognized as a foreign object in our body. Over time, technology and science have progressed to greatly improve the outcomes of dental implant placement. Today, the success rate for dental implants is close to 98%.
Palatal obturator.
This apparatus is used to close an open fistula in the oral cavity in the roof of the mouth for example . Palatal defects (hard/soft) may affect speech production or cause nasal regurgitation during feeding. A palatal obturator may be used to compensate for hypernasality and to aid in speech therapy targeting correction of compensatory articulation caused by the cleft palate. In simpler terms, a palatal obturator covers any fistulas (or “holes”) in the roof of the mouth that lead to the nasal cavity, providing the wearer with a plastic/acrylic, removable roof of the mouth, which aids in speech, eating, and proper air flow.
I hope this article has been helpful. If you want more in depth knowledge, let me know. Thank you !
Regards
Dr. Nesha Mohabeer