Tooth Replacement Options
Why will I Need Tooth Replacement?
As you mature, you want to exert great effort to maintain your health and your appearance. You might focus on diet and exercise for a healthy body, but do you apply the same care and attention to your teeth? If not, you may experience dental problems as you grow older. Just like any other mechanism, teeth tend to deteriorate after many years of use. They wear down, chip, or crack, and eventually fall out. An accident can cause tooth loss, but more often the loss is due to prolonged periodontal or gum disease, but even if you have maintained good dental hygiene over the years, you may still experience dental problems as you grow older.
Another reason you may want tooth replacement is that many of the modern drugs taken as adults lead to dry mouth or other symptoms that affect your ability to fight cavities. Crowns can remedy cavities, but sometimes the decay is too extensive that removal of your tooth is the healthier option and tooth replacement becomes the optimal choice. Dr. Titensor will discuss with you what dental option is suited for your needs.
Having many missing teeth is not only a problem for how you look and feel, but also can be detrimental to long-term oral and medical health. Your teeth provide more functions than just the ability to chew: They are necessary for the health of the gums, jaw, and other teeth, as well. Replacing your teeth is a very important aspect of your overall general health.
What Options are Available for Tooth Replacement?
If you have lost a single tooth or more than one tooth due to an accident or from periodontal disease, Dr. Titensor can replaced that tooth or teeth by using a dental implant or a bridge. For the tooth replacement of one tooth, implants have become a treatment of choice recommended by most dentists, but Dr. Titensor will discuss the preferred treatment for you.
Dental Implants for Tooth Replacement
If the recommendation to replace a single tooth is an implant, Dr. Titensor inserts a dental implant into the site where your tooth is missing. The implant simulates the root of your missing tooth. He then connects a small post called an "abutment" to the implant and cements your replacement tooth on top of the abutment. Your new tooth looks and functions just like your natural tooth.
Bridges for Tooth Replacement
Another option for tooth replacement Dr. Titensor might recommend is a bridge. A bridge in dentistry, also considered a fixed, partial denture, replaces a missing tooth by joining a replacement tooth permanently to adjacent teeth or dental implants. The types of bridges available to you may vary. At your dental check up, Dr. Titensor determines how the dental lab fabricates your bridge and how he should anchor the bridge to your adjacent teeth. Bridge fabrication uses the indirect method of restoration: crowns and implants.
Protect your overall general health opting for tooth replacement. Titensor Dental will discuss your tooth replacement options with you for that healthier, fuller smile.
