Failing Teeth Replaced With Natural, Youthful Full Dentures
What a Pleasing Smile Should Show
- Natural tooth colour, form and gum line
- Balanced tooth position and symmetry across the arch
- Adequate lip support and fullness
- A smile that reflects the patient’s own natural aesthetic, not a generic “denture” look
What We Saw Instead
- Broken-down upper dentition with discoloured crown margins
- Unnatural tooth colour, form and gum line
- A fully edentulous (toothless) lower arch
- Considerable soft and hard tissue loss from failing bridgework
- Reduced facial height and lip support over time
Chief Complaint: Failing, unnatural-looking upper teeth and a worn, discoloured lower denture, with a request to transition from partial to full dentures on both arches.
Upper Arch: Broken-down dentition, discoloured crown margins, unnatural teeth: colour, form, progression & gum line
Upper Arch: broken-down dentition, discoloured crown margins, unnatural teeth: colour, form, progression & gum line
Lower Arch: edentulous
Initial Presentation
This patient – a lovely 70-year-old who had coped well with a full lower denture for some time – came to us as her upper teeth began failing. Not every patient wants implants, and that’s a choice we fully respect; her preference was for removable, full dentures as the solution to her failing dentition.
She was referred by her own dentist for a specialist opinion on full dentures across both arches. Aesthetically and functionally, the situation had become unacceptable: her upper arch showed broken-down dentition, discoloured crown margins, and unnatural tooth colour, form and gum line, while her lower arch was fully edentulous.
Her main concern wasn’t just appearance – it was the transition itself. Moving from upper partial dentition to full dentures can feel daunting at 70, but above all, she wanted to smile and eat with confidence again.
Diagnosis: Unacceptable dental aesthetics and function, caused by failing fixed restorations and a worn, discoloured denture.
Our Approach
Our aim was to improve the aesthetics of the upper arch – tooth shape, display, colour, length, symmetry and overall smile line – using a provisional partial denture as we worked toward the final result. Throughout treatment, our patient was never left without teeth at any stage.
Wherever possible, when constructing new dentures, we aim to recreate – or get as close as possible to — a patient’s original tooth and gum colour, along with optimal tooth positioning, to achieve genuinely natural-looking results.
Treatment Options Considered
We discussed every option, risk and modality openly with our patient:
- No treatment – not viable, as the existing restorations were failing and actively affecting the longevity of the remaining supporting teeth
- Repair existing restorations with a removable partial denture – only a temporary measure, and not what the patient wanted long-term
- Full transition to complete dentures – new upper and lower complete aesthetic dentures, replacing the failing partial dentition entirely
Following this discussion, we proceeded with a full transition to complete dentures across both arches.
Treatment: Full Mouth Dentures
Treatment involved reconstruction of the upper arch, combining implant-supported bridgework with tooth-supported crowns, both in the laboratory design phase and clinically.
New upper and lower complete dentures were then constructed and fitted, incorporating the patient’s original tooth colour and form to deliver a genuinely youthful smile. In a lovely personal touch, our patient shared photos of herself at 25 years old – and these were used to guide the final design, helping recreate the smile she remembered.
Treatment Options Considered
Treatment involved reconstruction of the upper arch, combining implant-supported bridgework with tooth-supported crowns, both in the laboratory design phase and clinically.
Final Presentation
The results speak for themselves: a marked improvement in lip thickness and support, achieved alongside correction of the protruding maxillary central incisors that had developed over time. The final dentures restored not just function, but a natural, youthful appearance that reflected our patient’s own smile from decades earlier.
Final Treatment Outcome
As a specialist prosthodontist, my aim is always to help patients achieve both the aesthetic and functional outcome they’re after – and this case is a wonderful example of exactly that. Most importantly, the result was a confident, happy patient, smiling and eating with ease again.
Registered Specialist
Prosthodontist & Implant Surgeon
B.D.S. (Hons), Dip. Clin. Dent. (Oral Implants) Uni Syd, M. Clin. Dent (Prosth) King’s College, Uni London D. Clin. Dent (Prosth) Uni Syd, FRACDS, MRACD (Prosth)
What Our Patients Say
Here are just a few reflections from patients featured in our case studies. Every story is different, but each one speaks to the power of feeling proud of your smile again.
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