Replacing Missing Teeth
Your teeth affect your whole body. When they’re healthy, you’re healthier too. A missing tooth can affect your bite, speech and eating choices. As you rely more on your remaining teeth, you increase the chance they will wear out prematurely, or be damaged or lost. You may also experience headaches and/or jaw pain.
Who would want their appearance and health to deteriorate? That’s the natural consequence of missing teeth – the jaw literally melts away. Generally, people will lose 25% of their supporting jaw bone structure within the first year after tooth loss. Dental implants are more easily placed when teeth are first extracted because bone replacement becomes more complex as time passes. The great news? Implants act just like your natural teeth. They safeguard and preserve your bone structure, oral health and appearance. Dr. Mize will provide you with options so that you can make the most informed decision concerning tooth replacement.
Options to Replace Missing Tooth
You can select from a number of different options to Replace Missing Tooth – from temporary to long-lasting solutions.
A good candidate is anyone missing one or more teeth, or who is unhappy with their dentures. Age is not a factor. However, smoking, diseases such as diabetes, and radiation therapy to the area, have been shown to lower the success rate of implant placement. X-rays of your jaw will be taken to evaluate whether they will accommodate implants. Detailed x-rays may also be required to determine if other tests or procedures are needed to place implants properly.
Fixed Bridge
A fixed bridge is a connected set of replacement teeth. For support, it is cemented into position on top of the teeth adjacent to the empty space. The protective outer layer of these teeth is usually removed or ground down prior to attaching the bridge.
Flipper
A fragile, temporary and inexpensive solution is a removable plastic tooth with a plastic retainer, often called a “flipper”.
Metal Partial
A less fragile option is a removable partial denture cast in metal and plastic. It is held in place by wire clips. A removable partial denture can be removed and reinserted when required by the patient.
Denture
The most common solution, for people missing all teeth in one or both jaws are complete dentures. Some people adapt well to dentures. Others find them uncomfortable, even intolerable, because of differences in jaw size and shape.
Dental Implants
Dental implants are the most comfortable and permanent solution. They form a strong foundation for teeth and keep the jaw healthy and strong. Implants support individual replacement teeth or secure specialized dentures in place. Unlike bridges, no healthy teeth are damaged. Unlike most bridges, implants can last a lifetime. Implant-supported replacement teeth can be attractive, stable, and comfortable for almost any patient.
Why Select Dental Implants Over More Traditional Types Of Restorations?
There are several reasons: A dental bridge can sacrifice the structure of surrounding good teeth to bridge the space of the missing tooth/teeth. In addition, removing a denture or a “partial” at night may be inconvenient, not to mention dentures that slip can be uncomfortable and rather embarrassing.
The whole body has the potential to be affected only due to the teeth. Sometimes, the bite is affected due to missing tooth. Even eating choices and speech are affected to a great extent. Sometimes, the dependency is on the remaining teeth, which is why they fall weaker fast. They might also get lost or damaged. Some people experience pain in their jaw or headaches.
If you don’t wish to compromise with your health and appearance, then you really need to take care of missing teeth with missing tooth replacement. When your tooth is lost, you will notice that within a year, you will lose 25 percent of supporting jawbone.
The dentist would find it easy to place dental implants when the teeth is just extracted. With passage of time, there are problems in bone replacement. Implants and natural teeth are almost the same. The bone structure is safeguarded and preserved perfectly. Even the appearance and oral health becomes good to a great extent.
You will be presented with many options by your surgeon. Consider everything and choose wisely.
Options in tooth replacement
There are several options when it comes to replacing the missing tooth. You will find temporary solutions as well as long lasting ones. Aesthetic surgery can also be performed till you get permanent crowns designed.
In order to be eligible, you need to have 1 or more missing teeth. The factor of age isn’t important at all. The success rate is considerably lowered with radiation therapy, diabetes, smoking and alcohol. The surgeon will take X-Rays to evaluate and study the implants. Sometimes, jaw X-Ray might be needed to check the implants. Surgeon might also suggested detailed X-Rays to see if procedures are proper or not.