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Missing Teeth Treatments

Removable Partial Denture

A Removable Denture Supported by the Teeth You Still Have

A removable partial denture holds on to the healthy teeth left in your mouth with clasps or precision attachments, and you put it in and take it out yourself. It replaces several missing teeth at once without any surgery. It is less comfortable than fixed options and takes some getting used to.

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What Is a Removable Partial Denture?

A removable partial denture is a denture that takes its support from the healthy teeth left in your mouth and that you can put in and take out yourself. The artificial teeth that fill the gaps sit on a base that rests on your gum.

The denture holds on to the remaining teeth with clasps or with precision attachments. Clasps are made of metal, and when they are used at the front of the mouth they can show while you speak or smile. A precision attachment sits in a housing built into the supporting tooth and does not show from the outside, but this approach means the supporting teeth have to be crowned.

The base can be made entirely of acrylic, or it can be built on a metal framework. A denture with a metal framework is thinner, so it covers less of the palate, and that makes a difference to how you taste food and how you speak.

What Happens at Each Stage?

  • An examination of the mouth, X-rays and an assessment of the teeth you still have
  • If they are needed, decay treatment, gum treatment or extractions first
  • Impressions taken and working models made in the laboratory
  • The metal framework tried in your mouth
  • The artificial teeth set up, with the shade and the bite checked
  • The denture fitted and any pressure points eased

It is normal for the denture not to settle completely in the first few days. As your gum adapts to the pressure, small adjustments are made.

Who Is It Suitable For?

A removable partial denture may be considered in these situations:

  • You are missing several teeth but still have sound teeth that can carry a denture
  • You want to replace missing teeth without going through surgery
  • Implant surgery cannot be planned because of your general health or the medicines you take
  • You need something to wear while implant treatment is under way

Who Is It Not Suitable For?

  • If no sound teeth are left to hold the denture, other plans are considered instead of a partial denture.
  • If the teeth meant to support it are very loose, or gum disease has gone untreated, those problems have to be dealt with first.
  • If you cannot take the denture out and clean it regularly, decay and gum problems develop quickly.
  • If you expect chewing to feel the way it does with your own teeth, this denture will not give you that.

What Are the Trade-Offs?

A removable partial denture needs no surgery and fills several gaps in a short time. In return, there are things you have to accept:

  • The denture is not fixed in your mouth. You may feel it move while you eat or speak.
  • Chewing is not as strong as it is with your own teeth or with fixed bridgework. You may have to go easy on hard and sticky foods.
  • The teeth the clasps grip carry extra load. They can suffer over time and need checking more often.
  • Food debris collects under the denture and around the clasps. If it is not cleaned regularly, the risk of decay and gum inflammation goes up.
  • The jawbone where the tooth is missing carries on shrinking. The denture does not stop that, so in time it will need relining or replacing.
  • There is a settling-in period. Your speech and your sense of taste can change in the first few weeks.

Whether it suits you is decided after an examination. If there is enough bone and your general health allows it, fixed options can also be considered; if there is not enough bone, a bone graft may be needed.

How Is This Treatment Planned at Papatya Dental?

At Papatya Dental, planning a removable partial denture is as much about the state of the teeth left in your mouth as it is about how many teeth are missing and where. Because the denture will take its support from those teeth, we assess how sound they are first.

At the first appointment we examine your mouth, take a panoramic X-ray and, where it is needed, a three-dimensional scan. If the remaining teeth have decay, gum inflammation or are loose, all of that has to be treated before the denture is made, and that can lengthen the overall timeline.

Planning follows these steps:

  • Examination of the mouth and assessment of the X-rays
  • A look at the condition of the remaining teeth and the gums
  • Deciding where the denture will hold on, and whether clasps or precision attachments will be used
  • Impressions taken and the metal framework tried in
  • The tooth set-up, the shade and the bite checked in the mouth
  • The denture fitted and any pressure points eased

For patients travelling from abroad, we schedule the try-ins one after another within the same visit. Pressure points can show up in the first days after fitting, so an adjustment appointment is arranged before you leave the country. For anything that comes up once you are home, we stay in touch remotely, and you may be asked to see a dentist where you live.

Whether it suits you is decided after an examination. If the remaining teeth cannot carry a denture, they may need treating first, or a different plan may be needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a removable partial denture last?
  • How long it lasts differs from person to person, depending on oral hygiene, on the state of the remaining teeth and on how the jawbone changes.
  • Because the jawbone changes over time, the denture can loosen after a while. When that happens the fitting surface is renewed, which is called relining.
  • Regular check-ups keep an eye both on how the denture fits and on the teeth the clasps grip.
Is having a denture made painful?
  • No surgery is involved in making the denture: there is no cutting and there are no stitches.
  • In the first few days you may feel pressure and tenderness in the gum. Pressure points are eased at the review appointment.
  • If the pain does not settle, or a sore keeps forming in the same place, take the denture out without forcing it and see your dentist.
  • If a tooth has to come out before the denture is made, the extraction site is left to heal first.
How many days does the treatment take?
  • Impressions, try-ins and fitting are usually completed within 4–7 days.
  • If the remaining teeth need decay treatment, gum treatment or an extraction first, it takes longer.
  • If a tooth has been taken out, the gum needs time to settle into shape, and a temporary denture may be worn in the meantime.
  • The exact timeline is planned after the examination and the X-rays.
What other options are there instead?
  • If only a few teeth are missing and the neighbouring teeth are suitable, a fixed dental bridge can be considered. The trade-off is that sound neighbouring teeth have to be trimmed down to carry the bridge.
  • If there is enough bone, fixed solutions on implants can be considered. If there is not enough bone, a bone graft may be needed, and that is surgery.
  • A removable partial denture is considered where those options do not fit, because it asks for no surgery and fills several gaps at once.
  • Which option suits you is decided after an examination.
How do you look after the denture?
  • Take the denture out after meals and brush it under running water. Use a product made for cleaning dentures rather than toothpaste, as toothpaste is abrasive and can scratch the surface.
  • Brush the teeth the clasps sit on, and the gums, separately. Debris collecting in these areas raises the risk of decay and gum inflammation.
  • It is best to take the denture out at night and keep it in water or in a denture solution. Acrylic that dries out can change shape.
  • Do not use hot water; the denture can lose its shape in heat.
  • A dropped denture can break. Filling the basin with water or laying a towel in it while you clean the denture reduces that risk.

Other Treatments

Discover our full range of treatments

Dental Bridge3-5 daysImplant-Supported Bridge5–7 days + healingComplete Dentures5–10 daysDental Implant1-4 daysAll-on-4 Implants1-3 daysAll-on-6 Implants1-4 daysBone Grafting3-6 months
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