Are Missing Teeth Disrupting Your Smile?

Missing teeth can cause you physical pain, and they can make it difficult to eat. In addition to the functional problems that come with tooth loss, missing teeth can also disrupt your smile. If you’ve got a couple of teeth missing from your smile, it stands out in photos and in social settings. This can cause you to feel self conscious and smile less. That’s a real shame! You deserve to have a smile that you’re excited to share with everyone. If missing teeth are disrupting your smile, you may benefit from a custom-made dental bridge, which can effectively repair your smile.

Missing Teeth Are Distracting, But They’re Not Permanent

Your missing teeth probably create a distraction for you personally. You may be thinking about them and allowing them to dictate certain lifestyle choices that you make. While a new set of teeth won’t grow in, missing teeth don’t have to be permanent. Your dentist can create dental prosthetics that effectively replace your missing teeth and rebuild your smile. Dental bridges are great options for replacing a single missing tooth, or a series of missing teeth on one of your dental ridges. If you’ve suffered extensive tooth loss, dentures can help you recover.

A Dental Bridge Uses Remaining Teeth to Secure the Replacement

Your dentist may determine that a dental bridge is the best option to repair your smile. Bridges use your natural, healthy teeth to support prosthetic teeth. The replacement teeth are known as “pontics,” and they are held together on either end by dental crowns. Those dental crowns are placed over the natural teeth on either end of your missing teeth. So, if you’re missing a series of three teeth on your lower jaw, your dentist would fabricate three pontics that would be flanked by dental crowns, and place those crowns over the remaining teeth. The result is a dental prosthetic that fits comfortably and looks like the real thing.

Dentures Can Be Used for More Extensive Tooth Loss

Obviously, if you don’t have any remaining natural teeth, you can’t support a dental bridge. In these cases, dentures are probably your best option for recovery. Dentures can replace all of the missing teeth on a dental ridge. A gum-colored plastic base will support the pontics in a set of dentures. Your dentist can also make a partial denture to replace many, but not all of the teeth on a dental ridge if that’s the best option for you.

Find Your Dental Prosthetic at Greenhaven Family Dental

If your smile is being disrupted by missing teeth, it’s time to find a prosthetic. At Greenhaven Family Dental, Dr. Roberts will help you choose the prosthetic replacement that is right for your specific tooth loss. Schedule your prosthetic consultation by contacting Greenhaven Family Dental in Baxter, MN at 218-454-0523.