When you have lost a tooth, this could mean issues with your oral health and with the appearance of your smile. To prevent complications, you need to replace them with a dental prosthetic. In today’s blog, your Woodland Hills, CA, dentist talks about how we treat minor tooth loss with a dental bridge.
The Impact of Your Lost Tooth
Even a single missing tooth could cause trouble for your smile. For example, this gap could complicate how you eat, and impact speaking too. You could also feel embarrassed about your appearance. Nearby teeth could drift from their positions due to the gap, leading to misalignment and with it, an increased risk of tooth decay and gum disease. The changes to your bite balance from a missing tooth could strain the jaw joints and leave your smile vulnerable to complications like TMJ disorder and bruxism (teeth grinding). When you have a missing tooth, let us know right away to discuss possible solutions!
Creating Lifelike Dental Prosthetics
To begin, we will examine your smile to assess the cause and extent of your tooth loss. Understanding the cause means we can treat underlying issues and prevent further tooth loss. If we decide a bridge is your best option, then our team will numb the teeth on either side of the gap and then remove structure from them. Known as abutment teeth, these will support your bridge. We then take detailed digital images from multiple angles. An impression created that is used in a dental lab setting to design and craft the finished product. The bridge will contain new teeth, referred to as pontics, with crowns on each end. Made from ceramic, this can absorb daily bite forces and be color matched to blend with your smile!
Supporting Your New Prosthetic
For traditional bridges, we will attach the crowns to the abutment teeth. Your prosthetics can then remain in place for 10 to 15 years on average before a replacement is necessary due to the changing shape of your jaw ridge. However, we could also insert one or more dental implants into the jaw, which can support a prosthetic and prevent the need to remove structure from natural teeth. The implant also prevents jaw ridge changes, so your prosthetic can stay in place for decades to come. If you have any questions about how we treat missing teeth with dental bridges, then contact our team today.
Talk to Your Woodland Hills, CA Dentist About Tooth Replacement
Our team wants to help treat missing teeth with a prosthetic that looks natural! If you would like to find out more about repairing a tooth or replacing it, then contact your Woodland Hills, CA dentist, Dr. Naminik, by calling 818-347-5124.