Parts of a Denture – Complete and Partial, Labeled

All 9 parts on the diagram

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Complete upper denture 5

Artificial teeth The teeth set into the base, made of plastic or porcelain.
Flange The part of the base that extends up outside the teeth.
Palate The plate that covers the roof of the mouth.
Border The rounded outer edge of the denture.
Post dam (posterior palatal seal) A raised strip along the back edge that seals against the palate.

Partial lower denture 4

Clasp A metal arm that grips a natural tooth.
Rest A small metal lug that lies on top of a natural tooth.
Lingual bar (major connector) The curved metal bar that joins the two sides.
Saddle (base) The base that carries the artificial teeth and rests on the gum.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two of these use it: (1) Wikipedia, Dentures and Removable partial denture, text only, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dentures and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Removable_partial_denture (denture teeth of plastic or porcelain; the denture base; the flanges, the part that extends into the vestibule; the hard palate covered; the border seal and the posterior palatal seal; for a partial denture the major connector, of which a lingual bar is one type, clasps, rests, the base and saddles); (2) J. H. Prothero, Prosthetic Dentistry (1923), public domain, read as full text at https://archive.org/details/prostheticdentis00prot (porcelain teeth, the base, the labial, buccal and lingual flanges, the palatine portion of the denture, the peripheral margins, clasps, lingual bar dentures, saddles); (3) Edward Kennedy, Partial Denture Construction (1928), read as full text at https://archive.org/details/partialdentureco00kenn (artificial teeth, clasps, occlusal rests, lingual bar, saddles, post-damming). Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no photograph or plate followed. Licence: own work

How it works

The parts of a denture are artificial teeth set in a base. Two drawings give the names only: a complete upper denture with flange, palate, border and post dam, then a partial denture with clasps, rests and a lingual bar.

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Complete, then partial

On the complete denture, numbers 1 to 5 are the artificial teeth, the flange outside them, the palate inside them, the border round the edge and the post dam at the back. On the partial denture, a clasp grips a natural tooth and a rest lies on top of it. The lingual bar joins the two sides, and each saddle carries artificial teeth.

The natural teeth that a partial denture holds onto are drawn as dashed outlines.
This page names parts only. It is not medical advice.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a denture called?

A complete denture has artificial teeth and a base. The parts of the base are the flange, the border and, on an upper denture, the palate, with a post dam along its back edge.

What is the flange of a denture?

The part of the base that extends beyond the teeth and lies against the side of the gum ridge. It reaches into the vestibule of the mouth.

What is a clasp on a partial denture?

A metal arm that curves round a natural tooth and keeps the denture in place. A clasp with its rest is called a direct retainer.

What is the pink part of a denture called?

The base. On a partial denture, a part of the base that carries teeth is also called a saddle.