If you are missing teeth, then you probably already know that this can pose aesthetic as well as structural problems for your smile. Our Elmhurst dentists strongly encourage all patients dealing with tooth loss to reach out to their dental team for prompt and comprehensive restorative care. In today’s article, we’re going to be giving you some more information about the tooth replacement treatments available to you.
There are a few tried and true tooth replacement treatments that pretty much everyone has heard of. Bridges, for example, are dental prostheses that replace single teeth or consecutive missing teeth. Bridges sit on top of the gum tissue, and they are held in place, because they are anchored to adjacent natural teeth. Dentures also sit on top of the gums, but full dentures replace all of the patient’s missing top or bottom teeth. So, dentures stay in place because they fit snugly over the jawbone and gum tissue; some patients also use denture adhesive to stabilize their prostheses.
Now, with the advent of dental implant technology, patients can benefit from permanently anchored replacement teeth. Dental implant technology anchors replacement teeth with small titanium screws, with serve as replacement tooth roots.
Individual dental implants consist of single implant roots which are capped with customized restorations. The restorations are shaped, sized, and shaded to fit with the patient’s existing smile. Every individual dental implant occupies the space where a natural tooth used to be.
Implant-stabilized restorations replace more teeth at once, and are held in place with strategically-placed implant roots. A full denture, for example, can often be anchored with just four implant roots. Once these prostheses are attached to your implant roots, they stay in place 24/7 and are not removable by the patient.
Our Elmhurst dental implant dentists are here to help patients understand their tooth replacement options, and to choose the best treatments for them as individuals. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team by phone or through our Contact Us page to schedule a personal consultation with our team.