Removable prostheses revisited: challenges for primary dental care. I. Complete dentures

The provision of removable prostheses remains a significant aspect of primary dental care. In the recent past and in the near future, there have been and will be significant new influences on how removable prostheses are provided for patients in the UK. In this paper, the first of a series of three, the trends in edentulousness in the UK will be summarised, and important changes that are likely to influence complete denture provision will be outlined. The paper will then go on to provide an update of clinical procedures in complete denture provision. A second paper will consider partial denture provision, and a third paper will deal with overdentures.