COMPLETE DENTURE

DEFINITION
Complete dentures or full denture prosthetics can be defined as a dental prosthesis which replaces the entire dentition and the associated parts of the mandible and maxilla. It’s fabricated for geriatric patience, patients born with congenital malformed teeth or edentulous arches.
It can be classified as:
• Fixed complete denture
• Removable complete denture
Functions of a full denture
Aesthetics: A full denture should be able to restore the lost facial contours, vertical dimension, etc. in order to improve the aesthetics, artefact can be incorporated during the fabrication of such denture.
Mastication: A complete denture should have a proper balanced occlusion in order to enhance the stability of the denture as these will affect mastication if unstable. Phonetics: This is the most important function of a denture as it acts to restore the speech of a patient.

Surfaces and parts of a complete denture
A full denture has three surfaces and four component parts.
Surfaces of a full denture
Impression surface: (intaglio sum) the surface of a denture that is in contact with tissues when the denture is seated in the oral cavity and it should be free of void to avoid injury to the oral tissues. It can be defined as a negative replica of the tissue surface of a patient or the portion of a denture surface which its contour is determined by the impression.
Polished surface: (cameo) it refers to the external surface of the lingua, buccal, labial flange and the palatal surface of a denture. It’s defined as the part of a denture base which is usually polished and it includes the lingual, buccal and external palatal surface of the teeth.
Occlusal surface: this is the surface a denture that makes contact or near contact with the corresponding surface of the opposing denture or dentition.

Parts of a complete denture
Denture base: the denture base forms the foundation of a denture, it helps to distribute and transmit all the forces acting on the denture teeth to the basal tissue. It can be defined as that component of a denture that rest on the oral mucosa and to which the teeth are attached.
Denture base is usually made in either acrylic resin or metal.
• Acrylic resin denture base: this is the commonly used denture base material, its supply as a liquid and powder. It is economical and easy to fabricate.
Merit:.
1. It’s quit strong and can withstand normal occlusal forces.
2. Acrylic has a translucent pink colour which resembles the gingival, providing good aesthetics.
3. The denture can be easily rebased/relined.
Demerit:.
1. It does not transmit any heat, so perception of food temperation is decreased.
2. It cannot be used in tin sections like in metal denture base hence it affect the patient speech.
• Metal denture base: this denture base are fabricated using metals and alloy like gold, gold alloy, nickel-chromium alloy, and chromium-cobalt.
Merit:
1. They are strong even in thin sections
2. Mandibular dentures are heavier, so retention and stability are improved
3. It gives good sensory interpretation.
Demerit
1. Difficult to fabricate
2. It cannot be rebased or relined
3. It require more time for fabrication
4. It is very expensive.
Denture border: this is the margin of a denture base at the junction of the impression surface and the polished surface. Over-extended denture borders can cause hyperplastic tissue change like Epulis fissuration.
Denture flange: this is the essentially vertical extension fromthe body of a denture in to one of the vestibule of the oral cavity. The flange functions to providing peripheral seal and horizontal stability to the denture. They are named according to the vestibule they extend to via:
• Labial flange: - the portion of a denture flange that occupies the labial vestibule of the oral cavity. It has a v shaped notch to accommodate the labial frenum.
• Buccal flange: - the portion of a flange of a denture that occupies the buccal vestibule of the mouth. It provide the required cheek fullness in aged edentulous patients.
• Lingual flange: - the portion of a mandibular denture flange that occupies a space adjacent to the tongue. It should be in contact with the floor of the mouth to provide peripheral seal.
• Dental teeth: - it’s the most important component of a complete denture.it functions to provide aesthetics, mastication and speech. They are usually made of acrylic resin or porcelain.