Your dentist can provide you with a prosthetic to replace a lost tooth, or several lost teeth. These replacements can be made to look like your natural teeth, and allow you to address the problems caused by the gaps in your smile. Addressing tooth loss is crucial to restoring your dental health. Missing teeth affect more than just your appearance, as absences can complicate your ability to chew food, or even speak. You can work with your dentist to determine the best prosthetic for your needs – while some people benefit from a dental bridge, others may need full or partial dentures.
Problems Caused By Missing Teeth
Tooth loss is a problem that affects more than just your appearance. A lost tooth can affect your ability to perform normal jaw movements. Because you will have to accommodate the absence when you chew and speak, you may cause uncomfortable jaw movements that lead to more serious issues, like TMJ dysfunction. The teeth neighboring a lost tooth are also left with less support, which means they could loosen, or even be completely lost.
Bridges And Dentures
A dental bridge can replace one, or up to three consecutive teeth. For a dental bridge, your dentist will place a crown on each of the teeth next to the absence. The crowns will support the bridge, which is permanently placed. If you have several non-consecutive absences in your teeth, or if you are completely missing a row of teeth, you can restore your smile with dentures. Partial dentures can provide multiple replacement teeth, while full dentures can take the place of upper or lower teeth that have been totally lost.
