Prosthetic dentistry enables our team to address tooth loss, even cases in which people are missing most or all of their teeth! We can use lifelike materials and a custom approach to offer natural-looking replacements for missing teeth. In today’s blog, your Virginia Beach, VA, dentist talks about replacing missing teeth with dental implants and dentures.
The Factors Behind Missing Teeth
In childhood, we lose our primary teeth to make way for our permanent ones, a natural process. But once our permanent teeth arrive, losing them can lead to serious trouble for your oral health. But how do we lose our natural teeth in our teen and adult years? This could happen due to an injury to the jaw, untreated cavities of infections, or in most cases, the advanced stage of gum disease, known as periodontitis. Regardless of the cause, when you lose natural teeth, even if this is just one tooth, you should talk to our team about tooth replacement with a prosthetic right away, otherwise, you could be vulnerable to severe complications!
The Impacts of Tooth Loss
When you lose a tooth, the body notices. In response, the body will suspend the flow of calcium and phosphorus to the jaw around the missing root. Without these nutrients, the jaw loses mass and density with time, a breakdown linked to additional missing teeth and for this with multiple missing teeth, the risk of an older appearance. Beyond this, tooth loss is linked to the onset of misalignment and with it, a greater risk of tooth decay and gum disease. Missing teeth also lead to issues with jaw joint strain and TMJ disorder and/or bruxism (teeth grinding). Not to mention issues eating your favorite foods or even with clear speech. To avoid these complications, you need to seek tooth replacement with our team. We can help with dental implants!
Diagnosing Your Smile
Our team will begin with an initial dental exam, in which our team assesses the cause of your tooth loss and the extent of it, so we can plan your tooth replacement options. Our team also wants to address the underlying factors, such as gum disease, so we manage these issues and prevent the loss of your dental implants. The detailed digital images of the jaw can enable us to plan the placement of dental implants with detail, so we can handle minor tooth loss or several to secure a set of fixed dentures.
Ensuring Your Comfort
Placing dental implants is a surgical procedure, one that involves inserting the biocompatible dental implant post into the jawbone, where they bond with the bone structure to act as new roots and prevent the breakdown of the jaw, allowing your new teeth to remain in place for years to come, possibly decades or even a lifetime. But to ensure you’re comfortable during the placement process, our team will administer a local anesthetic to the placement area, and also provide dental sedation, so you enter a calm and relaxed state with little to no memory of the procedure at all. We want to ensure your dental implant placement is a comfortable and positive experience!
Implant Dentures
Our team can provide removable dentures, in which your new teeth are held in place with suction, adhesives, or clasps. These last about 5 to 10 years before they require replacement. But our team can also use multiple dental implants to support a full or partial set of dentures, so your denture is fixed in place and never slips when you eat or speak. They also last far longer than traditional tooth replacement options, and can be cleaned and maintained as you would natural teeth. We custom-make the denture portion to ensure it reflects your facial structure and offers a lifelike appearance. We want you to feel proud of your new smile, and enjoy the benefits of a prosthetic that acts as natural teeth. Of course, our team can also use dental implants to support an individual tooth or secure a bridge or more minor cases of tooth loss.
Don’t let your missing teeth cause problems for your quality of life and your overall oral health. Instead, talk to our team about a consultation, so we can start you on the path to a full smile with implant dentistry, and let you enjoy your favorite foods again and smile, without hesitation. If you have any questions or concerns or about this process, please feel free to reach out to our team today!
Talk to Our Team About Prosthetic Dentistry
To learn more about our approach to prosthetic dentistry, give us a call at Absolute Dental Care in Virginia Beach, VA at (757) 428-7440 to schedule an appointment.
