Dentures in Thailand

What are Complete Dentures?
Complete dentures or Full dentures are removable appliances that are used for the replacement of all missing teeth in one or both of the dental arches of a patient. These are artificial set of teeth that is used for maintaining functional integrity of oral tissues, thereby helping the patient in the process of mastication.
Dentures are designed by a prosthodontist or a denturist for edentulous patients and are custom-made in a dental lab after taking the impressions of both the upper and lower jaws.
The full dentures are made with acrylic based material that snugly fits over the gum tissues of the jaw arches.

What are the types of Complete Dentures?

• Conventional Complete Dentures
  A conventional full denture is the most popular type of denture. They fabricated 6-8 weeks following the extraction of last tooth from the respective dental arch. These are designed only after all the soft tissue in and around the extraction area is healed and therefore requires a waiting period of at least 6-8 weeks. The disadvantage associated with conventional complete denture is that the patient might feel uncomfortable staying without teeth for a longer period of time.
• Immediate Complete Dentures
  An immediate complete denture is designed and inserted in a patient’s mouth immediately after the extraction of the teeth. The dentist obtains precise arch measurements with an alginate impression before proceeding to teeth extraction and prepares both the maxillary and mandibular jaw models for furthering the treatment. The denture is prefabricated much before the extraction is planned and is inserted into the patient’s mouth immediately following the extraction.
  The advantage of immediate denture is that the patient doesn’t need to stay without teeth even for a single day and it also serves as a template to facilitate tissue healing. The underlying bone and gum tissues undergo modulation and gain uniformity as the healing progresses. Immediate complete dentures often require relining and periodic adjustment by a dentist based on patient’s comfort.

How many sessions are required?
A conventional complete denture procedure requires 3 to 4 sittings with the dentist.
An immediate complete denture procedure requires 2 sessions, excluding the follow-up visits.

How long will the dentures last?
There are certain factors that decide the longevity or the life span of complete dentures:
the age of the patient, the rate of bone resorption and the presence of an underlying medical condition.

Complete dentures require relining, rebasing or re-construction after some period due to normal bone wear. Excessive resorption of bony ridge may cause irritation to gum tissues which may result in redness, swelling and pain which may lead to chewing difficulty and finally ill-fitting loose dentures. It is advised for complete denture wearers to undergo a dental check-up every year to rule out these problems.

What type of dentist handles complete dentures?
The complete dentures placement is performed by a Prosthodontist.

What are Partial Dentures?
Partial Dentures are the dental appliances used for the replacement of a single missing tooth or a set of teeth in either the maxillary or mandibular dental arch. They are particularly beneficial for people who have lost only a few teeth from their oral cavity while the rest of their teeth are in good condition. The dentures are custom-made for each individual patient and are constructed by a prosthodontist or a denturist. Partial Dentures are the artificial teeth which are used to fill up gaps created due to tooth loss and to restore the functional integrity of missing structures. Missing teeth are aesthetically unappealing and often lead to the build-up of food and bacteria over the gum tissue which may result in disease. Partial Dentures help improve the aesthetics of the mouth and also the process of mastication.

What are the types of Partial Dentures?
Partial Dentures can be divided into two broad categories:

• Removable Partial Dentures
  Removable Partial Dentures are the most economical option and are made of an acrylic base material. These dentures can be removed and replaced back in position by the patient. But as the dentures cover some of the gum tissue they may be uncomfortable for some patients.
• Fixed Partial Dentures
  Fixed Partial Dentures can be further classified into two types:
  
  • Dental Bridges
    Dental bridges are supported by healthy teeth on either side of the missing teeth, while the prosthesis is supported by adjacent implants that are placed in the oral cavity.
  • Implant Supported Prosthesis
    These are also known as Permanent Partial Dentures, which cannot be removed by the patient on their own and are permanent once fixed in the oral cavity. Implant Supported Prosthesis are particularly beneficial if more than three adjacent teeth are missing and can help reduce the cost of implants for each of the missing teeth.

How many visits to the clinic are required?
Removable Partial Dentures and Dental Bridges usually require two sittings with the dentist while Implant Supported Prosthesis may require more sessions and subsequent visits to the dentist as the procedure for implant placement is included in the process. The total recovery time for the procedure may be more than 6 months because implants need to undergo osseous integration with the underlying bone structure.

How long does each visit take?
Removable Dentures are the easiest to fit and they require two sessions which last no longer than 10 minutes. Bridge construction involves crown preparation on the adjacent teeth providing support for the denture and may take an hour to complete, while the final visit takes around 10-15 minutes. Implant placement is a lengthy procedure and can take up to an hour. This procedure also requires many further sittings with the dentist.

How long will the Partial Dentures last?
Fixed Partial Dentures and Implant Supported Dentures are long-lasting and their longevity is dependent on the health of the supporting teeth, the age of the patient, the bone resorption rate and any underlying medical illnesses.
Removable Partial Dentures may become loose after a certain time due to bone resorption and tissue molding. As with complete dentures, Partial Dentures require frequent relining and rebasing.

What kind of dentist makes Partial Dentures?
Partial Dentures are constructed by a prosthodontist who is a specialist in the field. They may also be made by a general dentist.