Partial ("Partial Denture" or "Partial Plate")

What is a Partial?

• When some of the top teeth, or some of the bottom teeth are missing a Partial can be made to replace those teeth

• A Partial rests on your gums and teeth, and has hooks that wrap around your remaining teeth to hold the partial in place

• There are several different materials we can use to make a Partial. (see pictures below)

  • If only one or two teeth are missing we may be able to make a flexable partial that has no metal in it

  • If multiple teeth are missing, or teeth on oposite sides of the mouth are missing, it is usually best to make a metal based partial for increased streangth

  • If the remaining teeth are weeker, we may make a non-metal partial even if you are missing multiple teeth in different areas of the mouth.  These partials are usually easier to add additional teeth to in the future, if you loose more teeth

How is a Partial made?

• There are usually 5 appointments needed to get a Denture made ​correctly. It may be possible to skip some appointments depending on your situation. 
• The first two appointments we will be getting impressions (or "molds") of your teeth
• The next two appointmeents are making sure that we know how your top and bottom teeth meet up with each other, and making sure that the Partial will fit correctly, and making sure it will look correct.
• The last appointment we will give the partial to you.

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Are Partials Hard to Get Used To? 

• While your Partial Denture will be comfortable, and as stable as your remaining teeth allow it to be, it is a foreign object and will take some getting used to

• It will take some practice to learn how to 

  • Take it in and out​

  • Eat with it

  • Clean it

  • Some people need to practice speaking normally again (usually by reading a book out loud)

• The more you wear your partial, the quicker you will get used to the way it feels in your mouth​

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How Long do Partials Last?

• Hopefully more than 10 years. But it depends on a lot of factors, such as:

  • What it is made of (metal, plastic, flexible plastic)​

  • What teeth are one it (front teeth are more likely to come off than back teeth)

  • How hard you bite, and how your teeth come together

  • How careful you are with it (often the reason they break is because they are dropped)

• If they break, they can usually be repaired, and the repair usually only takes one day​

• Also, if you have problems with more of your natural teeth, we can usually remove the "trouble" tooth from your mouth, and add a plastic tooth to your partial to replace the tooth you had to have removed.

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For More Information, and for Instructions on "How to Take Care of a Partial", please look at the document below:

• Denture and Partial Denture Instructions