What denture materials are used?

In addition to the choice of the type of denture, there is also the question of the material used for this. There is a choice between different metals, plastics and ceramics, each with advantages and disadvantages.

A ceramic solution is often chosen because it is very similar to natural teeth, particularly in terms of aesthetics.

There are three groups of denture materials:

• Metals (especially titanium) for dental implants and gold alloys for full cast crowns
• High-performance ceramic (zirconium oxide) for artificial tooth crowns
• Plastic (for prostheses and artificial crowns)

A combination of several materials is often used to produce dentures. Veneering crowns, for example, consist of a metal body, veneered with a ceramic layer that is indistinguishable in colour from natural teeth. As a result, the artificial tooth crown can also fit perfectly into the row of teeth.

Partial prostheses, on the other hand, consist of a plastic palate as well as metal fastening clips and artificial tooth crowns, which are made of ceramic or plastic.

Dental implants consist of a titanium implant body and a ceramic crown. However, there are also all-ceramic implants.

Advantages of dentures

If missing teeth change the external appearance and become visible, for example, when smiling, this often leads to uncertainty in the patient’s appearance. The consequences can range to depression and isolation. But this is only one side: the health problems that missing teeth can trigger are more serious. They range from speech disorders to chewing problems to far-reaching diseases of the teeth and mouth.

If there is a gap over a longer period, adjacent and opposite teeth can also move in the direction of the gap, since they lack the counter-loading of the former tooth. This can result in a changed bite position and, as a result, excessive tooth wear and problems in the temporomandibular joint.

The bottom line is that every missing tooth should be replaced urgently. Fortunately, modern dentistry has a long line of proven methods that will soon make you smile, eat and speak in a relaxed manner.

Risks from dentures

The possibilities of closing a tooth gap with modern medical dentures are very different, and so the risks differ.

Risk of dentures: loss of substance of healthy teeth

For example, for the restoration with a bridge, two healthy teeth that enclose the gap must be ground by the dentist so that they can serve as stable bridge abutments. The healthy tooth substance is therefore deliberately damaged so that the bridge finds a hold.

In the future, the likelihood of tooth decay will increase for the ground teeth because they are no longer surrounded by hard enamel – instead, the much softer dentin is exposed. Furthermore, a bridge always harbours the risk of jawbone degradation, because the bone is no longer stimulated by a tooth root as before and therefore is not naturally preserved.

Implants are a much less risky variant of dentures: they act as a kind of artificial tooth root that is inserted into the jaw and fuse with the bone. The bone remains vital and bone loss is not a danger during this procedure. As safe as the method of dental implants is, it is also expensive.

Read more about aesthetic dentures in this article.