When you lose a tooth, you have a gap in your smile that could be embarrassing. However, this gap could also cause major complications for your smile’s health! To avoid these complications and maintain a beautiful smile, you need to bridge this gap. In today’s blog, your Livonia, MI, dentist explains how we accomplish this with a custom prosthetic.
The Dangers of Losing a Tooth
What follows once a tooth is lost? First, the gap in your smile could impact how you eat and could even lead to issues speaking clearly. For others, the surrounding teeth may drift from position due to this gap, and misalignment occurring. Dental misalignment itself means a higher risk of tooth decay and gum disease, as brushing and flossing is now more difficult. The missing teeth also upset the balance of your bite, and the result could be strain on your jaw joints causing painful TMJ disorder or bruxism (chronic teeth grinding). Finally, the bone tissue will lose mass and density as the body suspends the flow of calcium and phosphorus to the jawbone around the missing tooth. Without these nutrients, the bone tissue begins to break down, causing further tooth loss and in extreme cases, an aged appearance.
Crown-Secured Bridges
The most common bridge is held in place with dental crowns. We start by removing structure for the abutment teeth, the natural ones on either side of the gap in your smile. Next, detailed images and impressions will be taken and used to design the prosthetic. The bridge consists of your pontics, or new teeth, with crowns attached to each end. The crowns will be placed onto the abutment teeth to secure the pontics, and provide a full and functional smile. We also use ceramic to create the prosthetic, as this material is durable and can be tinted to blend with the rest of your smile.
An Implant Alternative
We could also secure them with dental implants. We don’t need to remove structure from abutment teeth, instead we insert biocompatible titanium posts into the jawbone. These stimulate the growth of bone tissue to prevent the loss of mass and density, enabling your new prosthetic to last for decades! We attach the crowns of the bridge to the dental implants. If you have any questions about treating tooth loss, or about our bridges in particular, then contact our team today. Don’t leave with embarrassing gaps in your smile that complicate your oral health, talk to us about potential solutions.
DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT REPLACING MISSING TEETH?
We want to help fill the exposed gaps in your smile and restore function, health, and beauty. For more information on replacing one or more lost teeth, then call the office of James Stewart, DDS in Livonia, MI, today at (734) 425-4400.