Ways to Replace Missing Teeth
Whether caused by disease or trauma, even a single missing tooth can have a significant bearing on your oral health. All teeth are essential and play a vital role in your dental health. They help you to chew food, speak clearly and show off your smile - and a gap can have serious consequences.
- A visible gap in your smile can be a source of embarrassment resulting in low self-esteem.
- Adjacent teeth can drift into the gap causing misalignment.
- Missing teeth make it easier for plaque and tartar to build up in hard-to-reach places, possibly leading to gum disease and further tooth loss.
- When a tooth is not replaced, the bone that surrounded it begins to deteriorate and can cause your face to sag.
Recent innovations in modern dentistry make it easy and affordable to replace a missing tooth or several missing teeth, and there are a variety of options available including dental implant surgery, a bridge, and dentures.
Dental Implants
Dental implants are small titanium rods that your dentist places in your jaw to mimic the root of the missing teeth. The implant fuses with the surrounding bone and can support a crown, bridge, or denture. They look and feel like your own teeth.
Dental implants in Allen can last a lifetime wit h good oral hygiene practices and regular dental check-ups and are the only missing tooth replacement option that preserves your jawbone and significantly reduces bone resorption and deterioration.
Benefits include:
- Look and function like natural teeth.
- Improved self-esteem.
- Enhanced ability to eat, chew, and enjoy more of your favorite foods.
- Improved speech.
- Restored facial and bone features because your jawbone is preserved.
- Long-Lasting, durable, permanent and reliable.
- Brush and floss like natural teeth.
- High success rate.
Dental Bridges
A tooth-supported dental bridge is permanently cemented in place and uses a prosthetic tooth or several to bridge the gap in your smile. The healthy teeth on either side of the gap are reshaped and fitted with crowns to anchor the prosthetic teeth.
A bridge can be made from a variety of materials such as porcelain and precious metal alloys or even a combination of materials. Bridges can also be secured permanently with implants, usually when two or more teeth are missing.
Benefits include:
- Blends in with the rest of your face.
- The procedure is straightforward.
- Re-establishes facial harmony and provides mini makeover result.
- Restores normal smiling, eating, and speaking.
- Long-Lasting solution that maintains the structure of the surrounding teeth.
- Withstands the force of normal biting and chewing.
- Easy maintenance.
- Affordable solution for missing teeth replacement.
Dentures
Full or partial removable dentures are designed to replace an entire or part of an arch of teeth. The prosthetic teeth are attached to an acrylic gum-colored base that sits on your gums. You typically wear them during the day and remove them at night.
A partial denture may have metal clasps that fit over your existing teeth to hold it in place. Full dentures can be secured with a denture adhesive. Dentures can also be secured permanently with dental implants.
Benefits include:
- Restores your smile and your confidence.
- Cost-effective solution for replacing several missing teeth.
- Improves your speech and makes eating more comfortable.
- Non-invasive procedure.
- Restores facial volume for a youthful appearance.
Regular dental check-ups and hygiene visits can help to preserve your natural teeth, but sometimes you cannot avoid losing a tooth.
Your trusted Allen dental team can help you select the best tooth replacement option for your unique situation. Give us a call to discuss your options.