Daryl E. Malena DDS
  Periodontics
10838 Old Mill Road
Omaha, Nebraska 68154
402 330 4100

In these cases, partial dentures can solve the problem for the patient, but they have a deserved reputation for being uncomfortable due to movement during eating which allows food to find its way under the appliance.  They also require strong teeth for attachment--and often the reason the patient is missing teeth is a history of destructive periodontal disease.

Sometimes this problem can be solved by the addition of a new, strategically placed implant with a connector to retain the partial denture and prevent movement.  Sometimes an existing partial denture can be retrofitted with the connectors, even after an important abutment tooth has been lost. 

We often refer to these cases as engineering problems, because they require close collaboration between the implant surgeon and the general dentist or prosthodontist, who are the engineers who design the solutions to these dental dilemmas.

Shown here is a case where the loss of a canine (also known as a cuspid or eye tooth) in each arch caused difficult retention problems for the patient's partial dentures.  By placing a single implant in each arch the partial dentures are again very stable and the snap attachments make a very secure connection, eliminating all looseness.  The attachments on the two implants are made of metal and those placed in the plastic of the partial dentures are made of plastic.  The plastic attachments are easily replaced if they become worn, and are supplied in several degrees of "snap" retention, each one of a different color.  This is a cost-effective solution to a serious dental engineering problem that will be reliable for many, many years to come.

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