Removable

complete
denture.

INTRODUCTION TO REMOVABLE
COMPLETE DENTURE
CHAPTER CONTENT

 Definition
 Component Parts of a Complete Denture
 Steps in the Fabrication of a Complete Denture
Definition

 In medicine, a prosthesis or prosthetic implant is an

artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which
may be lost through trauma, disease, or a condition
present at birth.
 A dental prosthesis is an intraoral (inside the mouth) 
prosthesis used to restore (reconstruct) intraoral defects
such as missing teeth, missing parts of teeth, and missing
soft or hard structures of the jaw and palate. 
Prosthodontics is the dental specialty that focuses on
dental prostheses.
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 Complete denture prosthodontics or Full denture
prosthetics is defined as “The replacement of the
natural teeth in the arch and their associated parts by
artificial substitutes”.
 It can also be defined as “The art and science of the
restoration of an edentulous mouth”.
 Complete denture is defined as “ A dental prosthesis
which replaces the entire dentition and associated
structures of the maxilla and mandible”.
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It can be classified as,
• Removable complete dentures
• Fixed complete dentures
Generally complete dentures are fabricated for geriatric patients.
Some young patients who are born with congenitally malformed
teeth or edentulous arches require complete dentures. It is
essential for the dentist to evaluate the patient before treatment.
This chapter will cover the contents of the entire section in a
brief manner to give a clear idea about the prosthesis.
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 Functions of a Complete Denture
A complete denture functions to restore aesthetics, mastication
and speech.
 Aesthetics : - The complete denture should restore the lost
facial contours, vertical dimension, etc. Artefacts like stains
can be incorporated in order to improve the aesthetics.
 Mastication : - A complete denture should have proper
balanced occlusion in order to enhance the stability of the
denture.
 Phonetics : - One of the most important functions of a denture
is to restore the speech of the patient.
 COMPONENT PARTS OF A
COMPLETE DENTURE
Surfaces of A Complete Denture
A denture has three surfaces, which are as follow:-
Impression surface (Intaglio surface)
It is defined as, “That portion of the denture surface which has
its contour determined by the impression”.
This surface refers to the surface of the denture that will be in
contact with the tissues (basal seat area and limiting structures)
when the denture is seated in the mouth. This surface is a
negative replica of the tissue surface of the patient. It should
be free of voids and nodules to avoid injury to the tissues.
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Polished surface (Cameo surface)
It is defined as, “That portion of a surface of a denture which
extends in an occlusal direction from the border of the denture and
includes the palatal surfaces. It is the part of the denture base
which is usually polished, and it includes the buccal and lingual
surfaces of the teeth”.
This surface refers to the external surfaces of the lingual, buccal,
labial flanges and the external palatal surface of the denture. This
surface should be well polished and smooth to avoid collection of
food debris.
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Occlusal surface
It is defined as, “That portion of the surface of a denture or
dentition which makes contact or near contact with the
corresponding surface of the opposing denture or
dentition”.
This surface refers to the occlusal surface of the denture
teeth. It resembles the natural teeth and usually contains
cusps and sluice ways to aid in mastication.
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Parts of a Complete Denture
– The various parts of a complete denture are:
• Denture base.
• Denture flange.
• Denture border.
• Denture teeth.
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Denture Base
It is defined as, “That part of a denture which rests on the oral
mucosa and to which teeth are attached”.
It is usually made in acrylic resin. In some cases, metal denture
bases are prepared. The denture base forms the foundation of
the denture. It helps to distribute and transmit all the forces
acting on the denture teeth to the basal tissues.
It has the maximum influence on the health of the oral tissues. It
is the part of the denture, which is responsible for retention and
support.
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 Acrylic Resin Denture Bases

It is the most used denture base material. It is easy to fabricate

and economical. It is supplied as a powder (polymer) and a
liquid (monomer).
Advantages
• Acrylic has a translucent pink color, which closely resembles
the gingiva, providing good aesthetics.
• These dentures can be easily rebased/relined as required in
future.
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• It is also available in various pigmented colors which can be used
for characterization.
• The material is quite strong and can withstand normal occlusal
forces.
Disadvantages
• It cannot be used in thin sections like a metal denture base.
Hence, it affects the speech of the patient.
• It does not transmit any heat. So, the patient’s perception of the
temperature of the food is decreased.
• Difficult to maintain.
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 Metal Denture Bases
Metal denture bases can be fabricated using Gold, Gold alloys,
Chromium-Cobalt or Nickel- Chromium alloys.
Advantages
• Mandibular dentures are heavier. So, the retention and stability
are improved.
• Improved thermal conductivity gives good sensory interpretation.
• They are strong even in thin sections. Thin sections are very
comfortable for the patient.
• Easier to maintain.
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Disadvantages

• More expensive.

• Require more time for fabrication.

• Require refractory cast material.

• Difficult to fabricate.

• Cannot be rebased.
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Flange of a Denture
It is defined as, “The essentially vertical extension from the
body of the denture into one of the vestibules of the oral cavity.
Also, on the mandibular denture, the essentially vertical
extension along the lingual side of the alveolo-lingual sulcus”.
It has two surfaces, namely, the internal basal seat surface and
the external labial or lingual surface. The functions of the
flange include, providing peripheral seal and horizontal
stability to the denture. The flanges are named based on the
vestibule they extend into.
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Labial Flange
It is defined as, “The portion of the flange of the denture which
occupies the labial vestibule of the mouth”. Thickness of this flange
provides aesthetic lip support. It has a “V” shaped notch to
accommodate the labial frenum.
Buccal Flange
It is defined as, “The portion of a flange of a denture which
occupies the buccal vestibule of the mouth”. It provides the required
cheek fullness in aged edentulous patients. In the mandibular
denture it also transmits the occlusal forces to the buccal shelf area.
The buccal frenum is attached to active muscle fibres, hence,
additional relief should be provided in the buccal flange.
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Lingual Flange
It is defined as, “The portion of the flange of a
mandibular denture which occupies the space adjacent to
the tongue”. It should be in contact with the floor of the
mouth to provide peripheral seal. However, overextended
lingual flanges can lead to loss of retention due to
displacement during the activation of the muscles of the
floor of the mouth.
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Denture Border
It is defined as, “The margin of the denture base at the
junction of the polished surface and the impression
surface”.
It is responsible for peripheral seal. The denture border
should be devoid of sharp edges and nodules to avoid soft
tissue injury. Overextended denture borders can cause
hyperplastic tissue changes like epulis fissuratum. On the
other hand, the border should not be under-extended as
peripheral seal may be lost.
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Denture Teeth
It is the most important part of the complete denture from the
patient’s point of view. The functions of the denture teeth are
aesthetics, mastication and speech. They are usually made of
acrylic resin or porcelain.
There are different types of denture teeth which are classified as
follows:
Based on the material: -
• Acrylic teeth.
• Porcelain teeth.
• Inter-penetrating polymer network resin teeth (IPN resin).
• Gold occlusals.
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• Acrylic resin with amalgam stops.
Based on the morphology of the teeth: -
• Anatomic teeth.
• Semi-anatomic teeth.
• Non-anatomic teeth. Or 0o/Cusp less teeth.
• Cross-bite teeth.
• Metal insert teeth.
Types of Teeth
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Morphology of Teeth
Anatomic Teeth
It is defined as, “Teeth which have prominent pointed or rounded
cusps on the masticating surfaces, and which are designed to
occlude with the teeth of the opposing denture or natural
dentition”.
Anatomic teeth have a 33° cusp angle. Cusp angle can be defined
as, “the angle made by the slopes of the cusp with a perpendicular
line bisecting the cusp, measured mesiodistally or buccolingually”.
They are the most used of all the types available because they
resemble the natural teeth and provide good aesthetics and the
psychological benefit to the patient.
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While choosing the type of teeth for a patient, the incisal and
condylar guidance of the patient, should be analyzed.
Advantages
• They are more efficient in cutting and grinding food, so, less
masticatory effort and forces are needed.
• Balanced occlusion can be achieved in eccentric jaw positions
(Protrusive, right lateral and left lateral movement).
• The cusp-fossa relationship helps to guide the mandible into
centric occlusion.
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• Aesthetically and psychologically acceptable.
• The physical contours closely resemble natural teeth and
hence, they are more compatible to the oral environment.
The disadvantages of these teeth are that they magnify the
horizontal forces acting on the ridge and the ‘teeth setting’
is very crucial to obtain proper occlusion (i.e. they should
be placed in specified positions).
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Semi-anatomic Teeth
These teeth have cusp angles ranging between 0o and 30o. The
cusp angles are usually around 20o. They are also called modified
anatomic teeth.
Victor Sears in 1922 designed the first semi anatomic tooth,
which was called the channel tooth. This consisted of a
mesiodistal groove in all maxillary posterior teeth and a
mesiodistal ridge in all mandibular posterior teeth. These teeth
were designed for unlimited protrusive movement and limited
lateral movements.
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In 1930 Avery Brothers modified the channel tooth to
produce what was called the scissor bite teeth. This is
exactly the opposite of the channel tooth. The grooves and
ridges run buccolingually so that protrusive movement is
limited and lateral movement is free. This was designed to
shear food in the lateral direction.
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Non-anatomic or 0° or cusp less Teeth
 Non-anatomical teeth are defined as, “Artificial teeth with
occlusal surfaces which are not anatomically formed but
which are designed to improve the function of mastication”.
 Cusp less teeth are defined as, “They are teeth designed
without cuspal prominences on the occlusal surfaces”.
 Zero degree teeth are defined as, “Artificial posterior teeth
having no cusp angles in relation to the horizontal occlusal
surfaces”.
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These teeth have 0o cusp angles. These designs evolved to over-come the
disadvantages of the normal anatomic teeth. These teeth do not provide
balanced occlusion. Balanced occlusion in dentures with these teeth is
obtained by balancing ramps and compensatory curves.
Hall in 1929 designed the first cusp less tooth and named it “inverted cusp
tooth”. The occlusal surfaces of these teeth were flat with concentric conical
depressions producing sharp concentric ridges around a central depression.
Myerson introduced the “trukusp” teeth in 1929. These had a series of
buccolingual ridges on the occlusal surfaces of both maxillary and
mandibular teeth. Here the ridges of opposing teeth were parallel to each
other.
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Advantages
• In patients with bruxism non-anatomic teeth decrease the forces acting on
the basal tissues.
• Greater range of movements is possible.
• In patients with neuromuscular disorders where accurate jaw relation
cannot be recorded, cusp less teeth are preferred.
• In cases with highly resorbed ridge, cusp less teeth are preferred as they do
not get locked and displace the denture during lateral movements.
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Disadvantages
• Flat occlusal surfaces and artificial contours give an unaesthetic
appearance.
• Masticatory efficiency is less.
• Balanced occlusion cannot be obtained.
• Occlusion is in two dimensions, whereas the mandibular movement is in
three dimensions.
• Any attempt to correct these teeth by occlusal grinding will decrease their
efficiency.
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Cross Bite Teeth

These teeth are used in jaw discrepancy cases leading to a posterior cross

bite relationship. Here the buccal cusps of the maxillary teeth are absent.

Instead there is a large palatal cusp, which rests on the lower tooth. Gysi in

1927 designed the cross bite tooth.

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STEPS IN THE FABRICATION OF A
COMPLETE DENTURE
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