These are generally the two different types of denture teeth we can use when making dentures – either porcelain or acrylic.
The advantages of acrylic are:
- Good appearance
- Bond to denture base so the teeth stay on the denture for longer and they don’t debond so easily
- A good range of teeth available in difference shapes, sizes, and colours
- Easy to repair
The biggest disadvantage of acrylic denture teeth is the wear resistance is not as good as porcelain teeth. After many years (5 years plus), they begin to wear and this can be considerably noticeable after wearing them for 8 years plus. There are new hybrid acrylic teeth available nowadays that have very good wear resistance, and they tend to stand up well up to 8 years plus. The amount of wear will depend on how much you grind, how strong your bite is, and if the denture teeth are opposing natural teeth, denture teeth, crowns, bridges, or if implants are involved.
The advantages of porcelain teeth are that they can look better than acrylic teeth. If you have crowns and bridges next to your missing teeth – if you make the adjacent denture teeth out of the same material (i.e. porcelain), the teeth will match a lot better.
The three biggest disadvantages of porcelain teeth are that they tend to debond from the denture base a lot more easily than acrylic teeth, they make a clicking noise when you eat, and they are a lot more expensive. For those reasons, most dentists prefer to use acrylic teeth on dentures.
If you have any questions about dentures and denture teeth give our team at The Denture & Implant Clinic a call and we will be happy to have a chat with you.
