When you have lost one tooth, or if years have elapsed and you’ve lost most of your teeth, you need replacement. Otherwise, your oral health and bite function, as well as your overall quality of life, could suffer. But your Shrewsbury, MA, dentist talks about how we can use dental implants to offer complete smiles once again! You can enjoy results that look natural and last for years to come, so you can feel confident and never hesitate to show off your smile.
The Causes of Tooth Loss
What causes someone to lose one or more natural teeth? For some, this could be due to an untreated cavity or possibly a dental infection. Others could lose teeth as a result of an injury to the face or jaw. The most common cause is actually gum disease, or more precisely, the periodontitis stage, which severs the connective tissues between the teeth and gums. As part of your tooth replacement process, we will assess the cause of your tooth loss. We may need to treat underlying issues like gum disease to help prevent implant failure and keep your smile whole.
The Impact on Your Smile
When we lose our natural teeth, this could cause us to feel embarrassed and even hide our smile from the world. We could have trouble eating our favorite foods and find ourselves limited in our meal options, depriving us of essential nutrients. Clear speech could be difficult too, which impacts our social life. We could also be vulnerable to further tooth loss and an older appearance as the jaw around the missing teeth gradually brakes down. But with the placement of dental implants, we can replace missing teeth and preserve the jawbone.
Planning Tooth Replacement
When you see us, our team will take a close look at your smile with digital x-rays. This allows us to choose the best angle, position, and depth to insert your new posts. We want to stimulate the growth of jawbone structure so your smile stays intact, and so your new teeth can last for decades to come. When the time comes for the placement process, we will administer a local anesthetic to help you stay comfortable, and we can also offer sedation. With sedation, you enter a deep state of calm and relaxation, with little to no memory of the procedure at all. We want to ensure the experience is a positive one for each of our patients.
Inserting Your Implant Posts
Our team will use digital technology to guide the posts into place, so they can sit at the right angle, position, and depth to support a new tooth. Once the dental implant is in place, this can bond with the jawbone through a process known as osseointegration. This can allow it to stay in place for decades to come, or possibly a lifetime. We can use one to support an individual replacement tooth, or several to secure a bridge or a full set of dentures. Whether you have lost one tooth or several, we can help!
Crowns and Dentures
For an individual one, we can attach an abutment to the post that extends above the gum line. We then connect a custom dental crown, one that looks natural and provides a durable chewing surface. For multiple missing teeth, several posts could be used to support a bridge or a denture, providing a fixed prosthetic that never slips, and one that lasts far longer than traditional bridges or removable dentures. We will discuss how to care for them and ensure they can last for years to come, so you have a complete smile.
If you have any questions about how we replace missing teeth with dental implants, or if you have gaps in your smile that need attention, then contact our team today to learn more. Now is also a chance to use your 2024 dental benefits or health savings account funds before they expire at the end of December. We want to help you start 2025 with a full smile or on the path to one.
Do You Have Missing Teeth?
Our team wants to help you enjoy a full smile, even if you have lost several of your natural teeth. You don’t have to have a poor quality of life due to untreated tooth loss, we can help you smile with confidence and enjoy better bite function and oral health too. To learn more about replacing your missing teeth with advanced implant dentistry, then please call Modern Dentistry Of Shrewsbury today at 508-842-8838.
