If you have lost a few of your natural teeth, then you may have an embarrassing gap in your smile, one that could harm your overall oral health. In order to fill the gaps in your smile, we may prescribe a custom-made dental bridge. In today’s blog, we’re going to look at how our traditional and implant-secured prosthetics can help patients in Greenville, TX.
Bridges and Crowns
The most common form of bridge is one secured with dental crowns. To begin, we need to remove a little tooth structure from the teeth on either side of the gap in your smile. We then take detailed impressions of your smile, including the prepared teeth, and use them to design the prosthetic. The bridge will consist of the new teeth with crowns on each end. The crowns will be placed onto the prepared teeth and anchor the new ones in place. We create them with strong and lifelike materials, such as ceramic. With proper care and attention, they can often last as long as 10 to 15 years.
Implant-Supported Tooth Replacement
For greater security, we may opt to secure them with dental implants instead of crowns. Your healthy teeth won’t need to lose structure, as the crowns on either side of the replacement teeth will be placed onto dental implants. We can address more than three teeth in a row, and since dental implants stimulate the growth of jawbone structure and act as new tooth roots, your prosthetic can often last several decades, possibly even a lifetime. Again, the crown and replacement tooth portions will be created from lifelike materials, ensuring you enjoy natural looking tooth replacement that blends with your smile.
Preserving Your Smile
When we address the gaps in our smile, we reduce the risk of misalignment forming as surrounding teeth often drift due to the gap in the smile. Poor alignment can often boost the chances of tooth decay and gum disease developing. In addition, missing teeth often place pressure on the jaw joints, leading to bite imbalance and an increased risk of TMJ disorder and bruxism, disorders that can cause headaches, jaw pain, and even damage teeth. If you opt for an implant-secured option, this prevents the loss of jawbone density due to missing tooth roots, meaning your jaw doesn’t change shape over time, which allows your new teeth to last much longer. If you have any questions, please contact our team today.
Ready to Treat Your Tooth Loss?
Don’t let missing teeth cause problems with your quality of life. For more information on our lifelike dental prosthetics, then schedule a consultation by calling Smith Family Dentistry in Greenville, TX, today at 903-455-5750. We proudly serve patients from Hunt County, Greenville, and all surrounding communities.