Replacing Missing Teeth

When someone loses a tooth, it can lead to many problems.  Missing teeth can compromise aesthetics, speech, chewing, and increase the load on other teeth.
There used to be two options for replacement when someone would lose a tooth:

1) Fabricate a removable partial denture which can move and collect food underneath.

 2) Fabricate a fixed bridge which requires teeth on either side of the open space to be prepared for a connecting restoration with a fake tooth in the middle. Bridges are an excellent option for most cases but if one of the two teeth supporting the bridge goes bad, then the whole bridge could be at risk.

The newest option for replacing missing teeth is to surgically place a dental implant.

Actually, dental implants are becoming the standard of care for replacement of missing teeth when possible.  Implants are the most natural replacement of a missing tooth.  Benefits of implants compared to the other options include:  implants can't decay or get cavities, you can floss normally around an implant, there is no need for preparing the teeth around the open space.  The only requirement is sound bone and tissues to support the dental implant.  Implant placement has become very predictable and pain-free using the latest dental CT imaging and guided surgery.  Our future blog will discuss this newer procedure.  If you have any questions or would like more information, please visit us at www.crowfamilydental.com.