A dental prosthesis is an intraoral (inside the

mouth In animal anatomy, the mouth, also known as the oral cavity, or in Latin cavum oris, is the opening through which many animals take in food and issue vocal sounds. It is also the cavity lying at the upper end of the alimentary canal, bounded on ...

)

prosthesis In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...

used to restore (reconstruct) intraoral defects such as missing

teeth A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, ...

, missing parts of teeth, and missing soft or hard structures of the jaw and

palate The palate () is the roof of the mouth in humans and other mammals. It separates the oral cavity from the nasal cavity. A similar structure is found in crocodilians, but in most other tetrapods, the oral and nasal cavities are not truly separ ...

. Prosthodontics is the dental specialty that focuses on dental prostheses. Such prostheses are used to rehabilitate

mastication Chewing or mastication is the process by which food is crushed and ground by teeth. It is the first step of digestion, and it increases the surface area of foods to allow a more efficient break down by enzymes. During the mastication process, ...

(chewing), improve aesthetics, and aid speech. A dental prosthesis may be held in place by connecting to teeth or

dental implant A dental implant (also known as an endosseous implant or fixture) is a prosthesis that interfaces with the bone of the jaw or skull to support a dental prosthesis such as a crown, bridge, denture, or facial prosthesis or to act as an orthodo ...

s, by suction, or by being held passively by surrounding muscles. Like other types of prostheses, they can either be fixed permanently or removable;

fixed prosthodontics Fixed prosthodontics is the area of prosthodontics focused on permanently attached (fixed) dental prostheses. Such dental restorations, also referred to as indirect restorations, include crowns, bridges (fixed dentures), inlays, onlays, and ...

and removable

dentures Dentures (also known as false teeth) are prosthetic devices constructed to replace missing teeth, and are supported by the surrounding soft and hard tissues of the oral cavity. Conventional dentures are removable ( removable partial denture o ...

are made in many variations. Permanently fixed dental prostheses use dental adhesive or screws, to attach to teeth or dental implants. Removal prostheses may use friction against parallel hard surfaces and undercuts of adjacent teeth or dental implants, suction using the mucous retention (with or without aid from denture adhesives), and by exploiting the surrounding muscles and anatomical contours of the jaw to passively hold in place.

Examples

Some examples of dental prostheses include: *

partial denture A removable partial denture (RPD) is a dentures, denture for a partially Edentulism, edentulous patient who desires to have replacement teeth for functional or aesthetic reasons and who cannot have a bridge (dentistry), bridge (a fixed prosthodont ...

palatal obturator {{no footnotes, date=February 2017 The Latham Device Post Latham Nasal Alveolar Molding Device Post Insertion A palatal obturator is a prosthesis that totally occludes an opening such as an oronasal fistula (in the roof of the mouth). They are ...

orthodontic appliance Orthodontic technology is a specialty of dental technology that is concerned with the design and fabrication of dental appliances for the treatment of malocclusions, which may be a result of tooth irregularity, disproportionate jaw relationships ...

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

References

{{Prosthodontology Dentistry Prosthetics Prosthodontology

Examples

See also

References