Swing lock partial dentures are designed for dental patients who have depleted dentition. Swing lock partial dentures are sometimes used because traditional partial dentures can be unreliable due to rather limited bracing and clasping abilities. These limitations result in a weak resistance to rotational forces. The swing lock partial denture design makes it possible to clasp multiple teeth at a time. However, some people believe this can lead to an unattractive display of metal in the mouth.
Function
Swing lock partial dentures are constructed to be able to resist movement along certain paths of displacement (generally perpendicular to the occlusal plane). Generally, guiding planes, clasps and any frictional contact with abutment teeth with the saddles can lead to resistance of the rotational denture displacement. With patients with depleted dentition on only one side of the mouth, traditional clasping will not stop displacement and rotation of the dentures away from the tissues.
Significance
Swing lock partial dentures allow stability, maintenance and retention in dental situations when the number of teeth left in the mouth is not enough for a traditional denture, or in cases where the remaining teeth are mobile. Swing lock partial dentures can stabilize the teeth that are left, but some people question the long term effects of this process.
Considerations
For any patients thinking about getting swing lock partial dentures as opposed to conventional dentures, some considerations should be made. The most important consideration for swing lock partial dentures is whether or not the teeth that are left in the mouth are very mobile or not (they should not be mobile).
Benefits
Some benefits to swing lock partial dentures include the fact that teeth can be added to prosthesis as the other remaining natural teeth fail, the fact that gingivitis recession can be concealed and disguised, and that retentive, stable dentures are useful for unilateral and depleted teeth.
Warning
As with anything, there are some problems and limitations to having swing lock partial dentures. These problems include sometimes having problems open the mouth very wide, weak manual dexterity, bad oral hygiene and also having a very shallow sulcus (less than seven millimeters). Swing lock partial dentures can also take a long time to build and can be extremely pricey.
Tags: lock partial, partial dentures, lock partial dentures, lock partial dentures, Swing lock