We have our big quiz tomorrow, which I am taking a small break from studying for to bring you some pictures of this years projects. In corner number one we have a RPD made of white triad, wax, and some fake acrylic teeth. It is worth 10% of our lab grade.
After many lab projects I can deduce what looks good and what doesn’t. This RPD looks like crap. I would never put it in any ones mouth, not even a dead dog. I’ll tell you why. The triad we were using was supposed to be 1mm thick. This makes it very thin, so it kept breaking. Normally this would be waxed up on a model and then cast into metal. If you look closely at the occlusal surfaces of the molars then you will see some small preparations made to the teeth. These are rest seats and would normally be filled in. For all intensive purposes our goal was to fit the teeth and give the thing proper occlusion. Check.
We are now working on our complete denture. We are half way done with setting teeth in wax on the articulator. We will actually send the maxillary arch to be processed. Here are what the custom impression trays look like for complete dentures:
Just remember the following things when it comes to dentures and you will do great:
Retention - Resistance to vertical displacement of the denture away from the denture bearing surfaces during function.
Stability - Resistance to lateral displacement of the denture during function.
Support - Resistance to vertical forces of occlusion. Factors of the denture bearing surfaces that resist/absorb occlusal forces during function.
3 responses so far ↓
1 TC // Apr 15, 2008 at 10:40 am
First off, let me congratulate you on a wonderful blog and post. I find the information I read on your page to be incredibly helpful and valuable. As a future dental student, I am learning a lot about what it truly takes to succeed in dental school, as well as what is expected of you. In this post when you talk about how much the project you are working on will affect your grade, it gives me more insight concerning the importance of lab assignments, and what a good finished product looks like. In summary, personal articles such as this are what make me visit your blog frequently. I chose to comment on this specific post however because it brought up numerous questions which I believe you could answer. You mention when creating dentures for a patient who has several missing teeth, the keys are retention, stability, and support. Obviously, partials that meet these requirements will be successful and will help a patient thrive. I wonder though, if dentures are always the most viable option. As there is so much advancement in implant technology, will dentists make a movement towards more implants and away from dentures, or is it not worth the expense, especially for older people to substitute missing teeth with implants? If so, what are the keys to successful implants and are they similar to those of dentures? Although I do have a fair amount of dental knowledge, I still consider myself a layman in terms of this subject, and the practicality of implants over dentures. While I know that income is something that greatly effects a patient’s decision on what type of procedure they would like (for instance amalgam versus composite fillings), I am curious as to what you believe are key factors when deciding what technique to use. I find the choices that dentists and patients have to make together a very interesting subject, and was curious as to whether there is a debate on what ways teeth should be replaced. While it depends largely on age and income, what other factors can influence the decision?
2 CheerioKing // Apr 15, 2008 at 9:42 pm
A good question, and one that I am not going to have a good answer for - due to my limited clinical training. I have had my nose in a textbook for two years and these types of topics have been discussed in passing. Implants are usually going to be a superior method for the retention, stability and support of a denture. Bone support is better than tissue support.
Demographics play a part in the decision as well. We provide the various options from prices, + and - of each treatment and usually let the patient decide which treatment fits thier lifestyle, budget, and wishes. You mentioned age and income. Other factors are patient wishes: functionality of chosen treatment, esthetics (all porcelain crown vs PFM, etc, certain health conditions, materials, dentist’s personal experiance for a procedure (I doubt a freshly graduated dentist will be doing advanced laser surgery or multiple implants without further education), etc. I will probably be able to answer this question better later on in my clinical years.
Thanks for reading!
3 Amanda // Mar 5, 2009 at 11:18 am
I have a possible answer to your question.
Could it be because of the limited osseointegration capacity of older individuals? I’m not talking retired type people, but really old people who have lost every last tooth could be limited in their ability to integrate a post or take with a bone graft.
I don’t know, though, it’s just a guess. The only thing I know about implants is that I’m gonna be getting a brand new 11 some time this summer, and I am PUMPED!
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