Creating natural-looking removable prostheses: combining art and science to imitate nature

Patient awareness of dental appearance has increased, resulting in more demanding esthetic requests. There is also strong evidence that increased esthetics is highly significant for complete denture acceptance and success. Taking notice of patients' perceptions of natural appearance and esthetics, the clinician can incorporate their preferences in the construction of individualized dentures that will be harmonized with their facial characteristics. Despite the evolution of materials and techniques, the vast majority of dentures still fail to look natural. Thus, producing prostheses that defy detection and successfully restore the appearance of edentulous patients remains a challenge for the clinician. This paper presents a clinical case where immediate loading of implants supporting a mandibular overdenture was combined with an opposing conventional maxillary denture to satisfy the high functional and esthetic demands of the patient. It also emphasizes the individualized esthetic performance through customization during their fabrication while taking into consideration the various clinical parameters affecting rehabilitation of the edentulous jaw.

Implant-retained overdentures can significantly improve the patients' function. The esthetic performance of these restorations however, may not be satisfying the patients' expectations and demands. Customizing the artificial gingival areas and individual staining of the prefabricated acrylic teeth may improve the esthetic performance creating natural-looking removable prostheses.