A dental prosthesis is defined as the part of dentistry that deals with the design and construction of prostheses. The lack of one or more teeth can put oral health at risk. The other teeth, in fact, tend to move to fill the empty space: the teeth tilt and stretch, modifying the occlusion and the overall balance of the whole mouth.

Muscles, bones and joints can be affected and chewing can be difficult and painful. The teeth that have changed position can become difficult to clean properly, causing cavities and gum disorders as well as negatively affecting the personal relationship with others because the aesthetics is strongly compromised.

There are different types of prostheses:

Fixed prosthesis

The fixed prosthesis replaces the dental elements with artifacts that cannot be removed by the patient. These elements, if they are anchored to the residual root of the tooth, are called crowns, if they rest on the adjacent (suitably filed) bridges and if they are inserted on implants inserted in the bone they are defined as prostheses on implants.

Mobile prosthesis

The term “mobile prosthesis” means all prostheses suitable for replacing entire arches or parts of it. They are defined as furniture as they can be easily removed during the day by the patient himself. Mobile prostheses are: total, partial and skeletal prosthesis.

Crowns

Crowns are prostheses for single teeth where at least the root is preserved. They are anchored either to the appropriately prepared tooth (abutment) or through the root canal posts.
The crowns, as well as the bridge elements can be in metal, ceramic metal, only ceramic or zirconium. The all-ceramic Inceram crown is increasingly required in the production of crowns for the various advantages it offers, assured aesthetics, reliability in mechanical strength and compatibility with the gingiva. In this type of crown, the metal ceramic infrastructure is replaced with an alumina or zirconium infrastructure. Aluminum oxide or alumina, due to its properties, is used in many fields, particularly in the dental sector. Alumina gives a particular diffusion of light.

Bridges

In the bridges the extracted dental element is replaced by a prosthesis that also includes the adjacent dental elements and must necessarily be reduced to abutments and prosthetic. The missing element together with the pillar elements (the abutments on which it rests) forms the bridge.

Prosthesis on implants

In this case the root of the missing element is replaced by a titanium implant and the prosthetic element is cemented or screwed onto it.

Partial prosthesis

Partial prosthesis anchors itself through hooks or attachments to the remaining teeth. When the partial prosthesis has a metal support structure it is called skeletal or skeletal prosthesis.

Total prosthesis

Total prosthesis is one of the physiological devices, as the chewing loads are completely discharged on the mucosa and on the underlying bone, because residual teeth or roots are missing. It is better defined as “total furniture” as it appears to be a device that the patient himself can remove and reinsert at any time of the day by performing proper hygiene of the mouth and prosthesis.
The total prosthesis can be anchored to an implant, in this case it is fixed and cannot be removed by the patient.
The teeth can be made of ceramic (not recommended for such a “big” job due to its technical, mechanical and cost disadvantages) or in composite resin (resistant and with a satisfactory range of colors).