Removable Prosthodontic Codes (D5000–D5899)

How the range is organised

Complete dentures (D5110–D5140). A full arch, upper or lower, conventional or immediate. Conventional means made after the gums have healed from extractions; immediate means made beforehand and fitted the day the teeth come out.

Partial dentures (D5211–D5286). For someone with some teeth remaining. Coded by arch and by base material: acrylic resin, cast metal framework, or flexible nylon. The material difference is the largest price variable in the range.

Adjustments and repairs (D5410–D5671). Adjusting a denture that has become uncomfortable, repairing a fracture, replacing a broken tooth or clasp, adding a tooth to an existing partial.

Relines and rebases (D5710–D5761). Resurfacing the fitting side of a denture as the underlying ridge shrinks — a reline replaces the lining, a rebase replaces the whole base and keeps the teeth.

Interim and other services (D5810–D5899). Temporary dentures, tissue conditioning, overdentures on natural teeth.

Partial denture materials: the decision that sets the price

Three options, and plans treat them very differently.

Acrylic (D5211/D5212). All pink resin, sometimes with wire clasps. Cheapest, easiest to add to as more teeth are lost, quickest to make. The base has to be thick to be strong, and it carries its load on the gum rather than on the remaining teeth. $900–$2,000.

Cast metal framework (D5213/D5214). Built around a thin rigid metal skeleton with precisely fitted rests on the remaining teeth. Rigidity is the point: load goes into the teeth rather than pressing the gum, which feels more stable and protects the ridge from resorbing. Thinner, stronger, lasts roughly twice as long. $1,500–$3,500.

Flexible nylon base (D5225/D5226). Thin, translucent so it blends with the gum, with clasps in the same pink material rather than visible metal. Comfortable and cosmetically excellent. But it flexes, so load goes to the gum; it cannot be relined easily; and most laboratories cannot repair it. $1,200–$2,800. Most plans pay the acrylic allowance and treat anything above it as an upgrade. That difference — commonly $600 to $1,500 — is the single most common surprise in this range, and it is knowable in advance from the plan booklet.

The first year with a complete denture

Worth setting expectations honestly, because this is where most denture dissatisfaction comes from. A new complete denture feels enormous for the first two weeks, causes excess saliva, and makes speech feel strange. That resolves. Sore spots appear where the base presses unevenly and need adjusting — two to four adjustment appointments in the first couple of months is normal, not a sign of a bad denture. Eating takes practice: soft food cut small at first, both sides at once, and a period of relearning that takes weeks rather than days. An upper denture usually performs well, because the palate provides broad suction. A lower denture is harder: there is far less surface area, the tongue dislodges it, and even a well-made one is less stable. Anyone unhappy with a lower denture should know that two implants under it (D6110) transform its retention, and that this is the single most reliable upgrade in removable prosthodontics. After extractions the ridge shrinks fastest in the first year, which is why an immediate denture needs a reline at around six to twelve months. That is planned, not a failure.

Relines, rebases and why a denture stops fitting

The bone under a denture resorbs continuously because there are no tooth roots stimulating it. A denture that fitted perfectly three years ago now rocks, because the ridge beneath it has changed shape while the acrylic has not. A reline (D5730–D5761) adds a new layer to the fitting surface to match the current ridge. Chairside relines are done in one appointment; laboratory relines take a day or two and are more accurate. Expect $300–$700 and a lifespan of two to three years before the next one. A rebase replaces the entire base while keeping the existing teeth, used when the acrylic itself has become discoloured or weakened. $500–$1,000. Plans usually allow a reline once every two to three years and a denture replacement once every five to ten. Relining a denture that should be replaced is a false economy, and replacing one that only needs relining is an expensive one — the distinction is whether the teeth and base are still sound.

What plans do in this range

Removable prosthodontics is major-category treatment: typically 50% after deductible, with a waiting period of six to twelve months on a new policy and a replacement limit of five to ten years. Three clauses recur. Alternate benefit, which pays the acrylic allowance for a metal or flexible partial. The missing-tooth clause, which excludes replacing teeth that were already missing when the policy began — a clause that can make a first denture on a new plan nearly worthless. And the annual maximum, which at $1,000 to $2,000 rarely stretches to a full upper and lower. For anything in this range, a pre-treatment estimate is not optional advice. The fees are large, the clauses are numerous, and the answer takes two to four weeks to arrive.