A denture is an artificial substitute for missing natural teeth and adjacent structures. The loss of permanent natural teeth is not a normal process but results from disease or accident. Tooth loss leads to changes in speech, digestive problems, and poor esthetics.

A dental technician must be familiar with the structural form of the dental arches and the associated structures. Without understanding the natural structures it is difficult to recognize the changes which take place with the loss of teeth and without that understanding a successful dental prosthesis cannot be fabricated.

Complete dentures are fabricated by using a series of steps that must be performed accurately and precisely. A slight error during any procedure can easily result in an unsatisfactory prosthodontic restoration.

Speech: Speech is also a function of the oral cavity. The structures in the oral cavity, along with the lips help to make sounds intelligible.

Digestive Problems: Chewing is the first stage of digestion. Chewing is not confined to the teeth alone, but involves action of the tongue and cheeks, and all the swallowing muscles.

Esthetics: The loss of teeth affects appearance in several ways:

• Change in the shape of the lips or cheeks due to the loss of support by the teeth
• Change in the person’s appearance due to conscious or subconscious efforts to avoid smiling
• Changes in facial contour resulting from the loss of support for the muscles of facial expression
• Change in that make the chin look more prominent