HomeFlipper TeethNesbit partial
Nesbit partial
The small one-sided partial that fills a single run of gaps and leaves the rest of the jaw untouched. Tiny, light, and the one appliance that needs a word of caution.
One flat price: $349 — appliance, impression kit, shipping both ways and 30 days of adjustments included.
Order the semi-flex buildSee every flipper
- Milled, not poured
- Sits on one side
- 60 day warranty
- Mold kept two years
What the name actually describes
A Nesbit is a unilateral partial. It covers one side of one jaw and nothing else, usually carrying one or two teeth, and it clasps the standing teeth either side of the gap. No bar crosses the palate, no plate runs to the far side. It is the smallest removable appliance in general dentistry.
People order one because a full-arch plate feels like too much hardware for a single gap. That instinct is right. A quarter of the plastic means a quarter of the thing your tongue keeps finding.
The name is a surname, not a material or a brand. Any lab can cut one, and what changes between labs is how the base is made.
The caution nobody should skip
Because a Nesbit is small and held at only one end of the mouth, it can come loose in a way a full-arch plate cannot. Swallowing or inhaling a small appliance is a genuine, documented risk, and it is the reason many clinicians will talk you out of one.
Three rules make it manageable. Never sleep in it. Never wear one that has gone loose, because looseness is the warning. And have a dentist look at the grip once a year, since the teeth holding it are the teeth that change.
If the gap sits far back, or the teeth beside it are not solid, a full-arch partial is the safer order even though it is the bigger one. We would rather say that here than sell the smaller plate to a mouth that cannot hold it.
Our build of the same appliance
We mill the semi-flex flipper from a solid blank rather than pouring it in a mold. Milling holds tighter tolerances, so the base can be thinner and the grip is cut to your arch instead of settling where the material happens to shrink. It ends up stronger than a poured flipper of the same thickness, which is exactly what a small one-sided plate needs.
One or two adjacent teeth, upper or lower, $349 an arch. If you want the base to disappear against the gum entirely, the flexible flipper at $399 does that and covers up to three in a row.
Ordering one
- Kit postedOut within two to three business days. Take a mold of both jaws even though the plate covers one side, because the bite needs the opposing arch.
- Photographs checkedSend pictures of both trays and of the shade tab beside your own teeth in daylight. A technician answers before you mail.
- Milled and returnedSix to ten business days at the bench, then two to three days to your door in a case.
New to putty, the impression guide shows what a usable tray looks like before you open a jar.
Small plates next to full-arch ones
| Build | How much of the jaw | Teeth | One arch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acrylic flipper | Small plate, one side | One or two | $319 |
| Semi-flex flipper | Small milled plate, one side | One or two | $349 |
| Flexible flipper | Small plate, no metal | Up to three in a row | $399 |
| Acrylic partial denture | Full arch | Up to six | $469 |
| Cast metal partial | Full arch, metal frame | Any spread | $749 |
Answers before you buy
Whether a Nesbit is safe to wear
Worn awake, checked for looseness and taken out at night, it is the appliance millions of people have used for a single gap. The risk lives entirely in wearing a loose one or sleeping in it, and both of those are inside your control.
Chewing on that side
You can, and gently is the way to start. A one-sided plate has fewer grip points than a full arch, so a hard bite is more likely to unseat it than to break it. Cut food smaller for the first fortnight.
Why we mold both jaws for it
The plate has to meet the teeth above or below it without hitting them first. Without the opposing arch we would be guessing at the bite, and a high spot is the most common reason a small plate feels wrong.
Whether the clasp shows
On a back gap it sits out of the smile line. Further forward a fine line of metal can catch the light, and if that matters, order the flexible build instead and the grip becomes gum coloured.
If it stops holding after a year
The teeth it grips have moved, which is normal. We keep your mold for two years, so a fresh plate comes off the model on file without putting you through the putty a second time.
What the thirty days cover
Any adjustment for fit, as often as you need, plus a free remake if adjusting cannot settle it. Details sit on the remake and cancellation page.
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Prices checked in September 2026.