Dentures Q&A

Q: Why do most dentists use plastic teeth instead of porcelain teeth for dentures and at the same time prefer porcelain over acrylic for C&B? The only reason I can think of is that they do not know how to take a proper vertical registration. The esthetics of plastic teeth are as good as porcelain teeth, especially over time. Also, the rate of plastic tooth breakage is equal to that of porcelain. What is your opinion?

A: Your perceptions are absolutely correct. A few decades ago, porcelain denture teeth were practically the only prosthetic teeth used. In the early 1960's, great improvements were made to the esthetics of plastic replacement teeth and, as these teeth were more widely used, a reduction in the resorption of residual ridges was observed. It was theorized that porcelain denture teeth were responsible for bone loss in some denture patients and therefore many practitioners shunned the use of porcelain teeth.

It has since been discovered that the most likely...