Dental Flippers

But what are Dental Flippers anyway?

Dental flippers or flipper tooth are removable partial dentures that are made to help replicate teeth that are to be extracted or are missing. It is important to remember that dental flippers are for temporary use to help protect and preserve your smile and remaining teeth from changing or shifting. The benefit of being able to get a dental flipper comes from how easily it is prepared for you before your tooth is removed.

Typically, a dental flipper is thinner and smaller than other removable partial denture treatments which gives it advantages and disadvantages. It generally encroaches neither your tongue space making your tongue feel crowded nor the back roof of your mouth and activating your gag reflex. Most people who do wear flippers comment on how easily they get used to having it in the mouth and forgetting that it’s even there. The thinness of the flipper makes it ideal for temporarily replacing one to three front teeth rather than replacing a large number of missing teeth or the back teeth (molars). Even though it’s not impossible to use dental flippers to eat, it is recommended to eat with caution as it can break easier as compared to other removable partial denture treatments.

Dental practitioners and patients opt for flipper tooth because of the cost savings it provides and how easily it helps transition the tooth from being pulled to getting a more permanent solution such as an implant, bridge or a more permanent removable partial denture. For example, imagine your two front big teeth has decayed to the point it can’t be saved and has to be pulled. Your dentist or denturist can easily take an impression of your mouth and start getting your flipper made to replace those two front teeth. At this point you can decide to get implants right away or even wait to save up some money to get the implants. Once the two teeth have been pulled the flipper teeth will be placed in replicating your two natural teeth and preserving your beautiful smile. This flipper will then be used for up to a year so that you can save enough money for the implant, giving the implant time to integrate with your jaw bone and, time for a crown to be made and placed on.

Learn more about removable partial dentures here or implant dentures here.

If you feel you’re ready and deserve to stop hiding your smile because of the black gaps you can call us at