If you have one or more teeth missing, you have the option to choose to do nothing or have a dentist replace missing teeth using a implant, partial denture or dental bridge. Dr. Bradley Engle of Engle Implant Dentistry works with his team of General Dentists that help him provide these type of Dental treatments. It is important to understand that a replacement for missing teeth can be crucial to your mental, oral, and overall health.
Gaps in your smile directly affect your self-esteem, making you self-conscious about your appearance. Gaps results in you avoiding to smile, socialize, public speaking, and/ or even attending work related gatherings. This type of anti-social behavior could have devastating effects on your personal, social, and professional life.
Missing teeth are harmful to your oral health, which in turn will eventually damage even your general health. Adjacent teeth next to Gaps can drift and can even interfere with your bite (the way that your teeth come together). This can lead to potential TMJ (joint) issues. Food and bacteria can become trapped in the spaces between drifted teeth which puts you at a higher risk for gum disease/ bone loss. From our previous discussions, Periodontal disease has been linked to cardiovascular and pulmonary complications secondary to tooth loss.
A dental bridge, which consists of three or more teeth, is an excellent method of filling in Gaps. A bridge is simply an artificial tooth or teeth (called a pontics) anchored between two crowns that are placed on the teeth adjacent to that missing tooth, forming a bridge across the gap. The procedure for having a traditional dental bridge placed is very simple and straightforward. A local anesthesia is used to ensure that you are comfortable while the dentist prepares teeth (abutments). An impression of the gap and the abutments is taken and sent to a lab where the bridge will be fabricated. Your dentist will use a temporary bridge which will be placed to protect the teeth and gums until your permanent bridge is ready. During your next visit, the temporary bridge is gently removed and the permanent bridge is cemented/ fitted into place.
In addition to traditional bridges, there are bonded bridges, a good choice if the abutment teeth are in good shape and not broken down too much. The artificial tooth is attached to a metal band that gets bonded to the abutment teeth. Bonded Bridges using are used in the anterior part of your smile. A third type of bridge, called a cantilever bridge is utilized when there are no solid tooth abutments on one side of the gap which in turn extends the bridge beyond the abutment tooth (or teeth) to fill the gap.
If you are ready to replace missing teeth, consult Dr. Engle today. His team will guide you to choose the best restorative choice that will help your smile again.