Do you have missing teeth? If you have gaps in your smile, then we could help by supporting custom dental bridges. In today’s blog, your team at Healthy Smiles Family Dentistry in Houston, TX, talks about how we replace missing teeth by securing custom dental bridges.
The Loss of Natural Teeth
What happens to cause teeth to go missing? You could suffer from tooth loss due to an injury to the face or your jaw, or even due to a severe cavity or infection that does not receive restorative or endodontic treatment. The most common factor behind adult tooth loss is periodontitis, the advanced stage of gum disease. When you lose teeth, even just one, this means the jaw is deprived of a root and will gradually weaken, which can lead to further tooth loss and an older appearance. Your teeth can shift to create misalignment and further harm to your oral health. This also upsets the balance, so issues like TMJ disorder or bruxism (teeth grinding) could be more likely. For some, large gaps of two to three teeth in a row could impact how we eat or speak. But we can secure a custom dental bridge to restore your smile, replacing a single tooth or as many as three in a row.
Dental Prosthetics
If you lose one or more of your natural teeth, we could help with a dental prosthetic. This can take on one missing tooth, or replace as many as three in a row. To secure a custom dental bridge, we will start by numbing the abutment teeth, the natural ones on each side of the gap. Once these are numbed, we will remove structure from them and take detailed digital images of the abutment teeth and the open gap.
In a dental lab, we will design and craft a custom dental bridge, one that is made from ceramic to ensure durability and a lifelike appearance. We then attach the crown portions of the prosthetic to the abutment teeth, which secures your new ones firmly in place. This can last for decades with proper care and attention!
Support with Implant Dentistry
We also have another option for addressing missing teeth. Instead of a traditional option, one supported with crowns on natural teeth, we could use one or two dental implants. These posts will act like new roots and will be inserted into the jaw, no need to remove structure from natural teeth. We then attach the crown portions of your prosthetic to these, securing new teeth that have the potential to last for decades, or even a lifetime!
Learn More About Our Dental Prosthetics
Our team wants to help replace missing teeth with traditional and implant bridges. To find out more about addressing tooth loss, or to schedule an appointment, please call Healthy Smiles Family Dentistry in Houston, TX at (281) 974-4494.
