Rehabilitating a severely worn dentition with removable prosthodontics

Abstract

In the next part of this series on tooth wear management, we discuss the indications and clinical stages for the provision of removable prostheses for the treatment of severely worn and depleted dentitions. The general design features of a complex prosthesis are described for reorganised occlusal schemes and maintenance guidelines are explained. In addition, the clinical stages for three different situations are described: removable-only approaches, and combined fixed and removable in the same arch and separate arches. The value of providing removable prostheses in worn dentitions allows the immediate rehabilitation of severely worn teeth taking a non-invasive and retrievable approach when the remaining dentition is of poor quality or structure and/or there are missing teeth.