Fixed Full Denture

 In the past, patients suffering from tooth loss faced many challenges on their road to recovery. Aside from physical limitations like premature aging and loss of chewing efficiency, emotional effects of tooth loss included bereavement, lowered self-confidence, altered self-image, dislike of appearance, and a feeling of taboo when discussing their problem with others.1 Along with these common behaviors, patients also found themselves attempting to keep their problem a secret, and often had difficulty socializing and forming close relationships.¹ 

The loss of hard and soft tissues is associated with a loss of orofacial support.² Because of this, facial aesthetics, phonetics, and collapse of vertical dimensions coincided with the appearance of premature aging caused by the lack of lip support and a decrease in facial height.² Changes in orofacial structure led to impaired oral function, pain, insufficient retention due to bone loss in the residual ridge, and instability of conventional dentures, along with nutritional and psychological changes, which caused many issues for patients.² 

The conventional treatment for this condition, removable prostheses, exacerbated many of these emotional and physical effects since dentures have been uncomfortable.^3,4 Because traditional dentures seldom provide the desired stability, patients found themselves struggling to keep them in place with their tongue, cheek, and lip muscles.^3,4

The average bite-force for dentate patients, 150 to 250 psi, and for those who clenched or were bruxers, 1,000 psi, was reduced to 50 psi when the patient became edentulous.^3,4 After 15 or more years wearing dentures, many patients’ bite-force and chewing efficiencies were reduced even further to 5.6 psi, making simple functional tasks like eating very difficult.^3,4

Implant-supported overdentures, the new standard of care for edentulous patients, offer many benefits over fixed options.² To achieve the best results, clinicians realized that it was necessary to place endosseous osseointegrated implants under removable prostheses to preserve bone and to provide prosthetic retention, stability, and a degree of occlusal support.² It was also discovered that quality of life, self-confidence, nutritional state, and facial aesthetics improve with implant-supported or implant-retained prostheses.^3,4 Patients seeking to correct chronic pain in load-bearing areas will find that implant-retained overdentures, aside from improving aesthetics, offer more comfort and psychological benefits.² Overall, this type of prostheses allows patients to function normally in society and enables them to eat what they want, instead of only what they can.² 

However, despite enhancements in denture fit and comfort, there still has been a need for denture teeth capable of withstanding implant forces and that also resemble natural looking dentition.^3,4 Because implant-retained and supported dentures are very stable intraorally, they require materials that are much stronger and, more importantly, demonstrate a higher resistance to wear.⁵Aesthetics and better bite characteristics also have become more desirable traits by patients.⁵

Newly available denture base materials and denture tooth technology provide a more comfortable fit with improved biocompatibility.⁵With advancements in CAD/CAM technologies, denture teeth can now be designed for advanced occlusal schemes and demonstrate decreased incidences of breakage because of their density.⁵ Displaying less change, especially in the fifth dimension, these advanced materials represent the future of implant supported and retained prostheses.