Question From Our Member

E. Callaway of Boston, MA.asks:
“Can you explain the difference between fixed and removable prosthetics?”

Savon’s Answer:

The difference is one is made to be taken out and cleaned by you while the other is intended to be removed only by your dentist.

The removable prosthetic is called a denture. There are 2 basic types of dentures;

• Complete denture, meaning that it replaces all of your upper or lower teeth.


• Partial denture, this replaces only certain teeth and in most cases anchors to your existing solid teeth.

The fixed prosthetic is called a Bridge.  A bridge does exactly what the name says, it bridges the gap between teeth caused by the loss of 1 or more teeth.

The size of the bridge depends on how many teeth it is replacing.  In most cases the bridge requires 2 abutments and 1 or more pontics (an artificial (false) tooth that replaces a missing tooth) depending on how many teeth are being replaced.

The abutments are actually crowns that go over sound natural teeth on each side of the void being bridged.  To bridge a single void requires a 3 unit bridge (abutment, pontic, abutment).

As far as the cost, a removable prosthetic is almost always less expensive than a fixed prosthetic.


Original post from our June 2018 Newsletter!