Creating complete dentures that are stable in function.

UNLABELLED

Many edentulous people can experience difficulty in carrying out functional activities when wearing complete dentures. This may be due to a number of factors, one of which is the ability to control the dentures effectively during mastication and speech. For this reason, it is critical when constructing complete dentures to incorporate features in their design which will aid stability in function. Usually, the challenges are greater in constructing a prosthesis to replace the missing mandibular teeth. It is recognized that the use of osseointegrated implants offers considerable advantages for people who have to wear complete dentures, and the contribution of implantology to the provision of stable complete dentures will be explored. However, many people will not have the opportunity to experience the benefits of this approach. Furthermore, for people who need to wear conventional dentures, age and other factors may impact on their ability to control the prostheses effectively during oral function. In this paper, the ways in which design features may impact on the stability of complete dentures will be discussed.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

This paper considers how complete dentures can be designed and constructed so that they are stable in oral function, and can be worn comfortably without causing damage to the intra-oral tissues.