Why Is It Important to Replace Missing Teeth?

It is very important to replace your missing teeth. Your dental health affects your face’s general aesthetic value. Having a perfect set of teeth not only allows you to smile heartily and confidently but also improves your social standing and confidence levels.

There are many reasons why adults lose one or more teeth. Accidents that result in physical injury or trauma, gum disease, extraction, or even cavities could result in missing teeth. Missing front teeth are conspicuous,and so is a missing side tooth, hence the need to replace missing tooth.

What is the importance of replacing missing teeth?

Can teeth be replaced? Why replace missing teeth?

Thanks to advancements in technology, orthodontists can now easily and effectively replace missing teeth. The importance of replacing missing teeth is:

1. Missing front teeth, especially, might be too noticeable for your liking. They, in turn, affects your appearance, confidence, and speech. The need for replacing a missing tooth is to improve your general aesthetic value.
2. It is advised to replace a missing tooth to avoid your healthy teeth shifting into the gaps, tampering with your jawline structure.
3. Missing teeth can change your bite, resulting in chronic jaw pain.
4. Missing teeth can cause your jaw bone to weaken. Resorption happens when there is a void where a tooth used to be. The jaw bone starts to shrink noticeably, and this is often impossible to replace.
5. Modern options for missing teeth eliminate the need to use traditional dentures, which are rather uncomfortable and outdated.
6. The best options to replace missing teeth will leave you looking younger and more comfortable. It has been established that missing teeth make people look older than they really are.

See Also: Long term effects of missing teeth.

Best Options For Replacing Missing Teeth

At Omega Dental Specialist, Houston, we understand the discomforts that come with a missing tooth. Let’s look at options on how to replace missing teeth.

Dental Implants

Dental implants are a near-natural missing tooth replacement option. They come in handy for persons with a missing tooth or a few missing teeth due to gum disease or accidents.
To replace a missing tooth, small titanium screws inserted into your jawbone to fill in the space.

Advantages of Dental Implants

• Dental implants are a permanent tooth replacement option. A surety of fixing missing front teeth is assured.
• Implants is the only missing teeth replacement option that guarantees no jawbone loss. As we have seen, the gaps in the jawbone cause resorption.
• Getting dental implants will not require expensive maintenance routines, and visits to the orthodontist are also greatly reduced.
• A dental implant will not interfere with the adjacent teeth.
• Dental implants blend in well with the rest of the teeth, giving you a very natural look.
• Getting implants will be effective in fixing a missing front tooth.
• You can get missing molar replacement with dental implants, unlike with other artificial teeth replacement options.

Disadvantages of Dental Implants

• While it is true that dental implants are very long-lasting, the restorations that implants rest on are not, and to replace them from time to time is advised.
• This false tooth replacement method requires an invasive surgery at installation. Complications that may come with it include bone damage, excessive bleeding or even damage to the adjacent teeth.
• Dental implants take quite some time to heal.
• Like any other surgical procedure, dental implants have a slim chance of not working, or the fake teeth not blending in.

Dental Implants Cost Breakdown

At Omega dental specialist,Houston, permanent teeth fixing cost breakdown might not be a one-size-fits-all because of several factors. Some of them include;

1. Your geographical location. Weird as it sounds, orthodontists in really high-end places will not charge the same as their counterparts in smaller towns. Factors such as the cost of acquiring their supplies and the rates of their business premises will come into play.
2. The condition of your teeth when you initially visit your orthodontist will determine your Dental implants Cost Break down.
3. Some patients will require more than just one dental implant, thus affecting the cost of tooth replacement.
4. The material used to make your preferred implants will determine the final cost of your permanent teeth fixing cost. Be sure to consult the dentist on the different dynamics of the various artificial teeth options.
5. Dental implants Cost Break down will change depending on if you have insurance discounts or not.

All on 4 Dental Implants

In Houston, an Omega Dental specialist, might recommend a procedure in which four dental implants are used to support all the teeth where the patient has badly damaged teeth, except for missing molar replacement.

• The prosthodontist will use four implants in your upper jaw, and four implants on your lower jaw to anchor the artificial teeth.
• The two main materials used for all on four dental implants are either porcelain or acrylic.
• The acrylic or composite implants use an acrylic denture over a titanium framework, while porcelain implants are made of porcelain material.

Advantages of All on 4 Dental Implants

A fairly common option to repair teeth, all on four dental implants have the following benefits:

1. Improving your facial aesthetics tremendously. Most patients have reported a significant boost to their ego and social status upon acquiring these dental implants.
2. You can get your dental appearance transformed instantly with the all on four dental implants.
3. Getting these implants to replace lost teeth will ensure that you continue enjoying your diet unrestricted.
4. It is easy to care for your new implants, with regular brushing and flossing, just as if you had natural teeth.
5. All on four dental implants are non-removable, ensuring their functionality is uninterrupted. This way, you ultimately get the best service from your implants.
6. Your jawbone is well protected and stimulated, preventing bone atrophy and enhancing your aesthetics.
7. The healing time is significantly reduced, compared to individual implants healing time.

What are the disadvantages of all on four dental implants?

1. All on four dental implants can’t cover your molar area, yet this is where most of your biting force should come from.
2. Since they come in a bridge, you will not get the chance to try out individual fake teeth efficiency as you would with individual implants.
3. This missing teeth repair method requires a patient to have a capable jawbone, which is not always the case as most patients experience bone atrophy at the loss of their natural teeth.

All on 6 Dental Implants

With all on six dental implants, six implants will be installed in either the upper or lower jaw to anchor an overdenture or bridge of artificial teeth.
This option of teeth repair has its advantages, including;

1. It allows replace to almost all missing teeth in your mouth, all in one procedure. This is inclusive of a missing side tooth.
2. These dental implants offer more functionality while compared to all on four dental implants.
3. The biting force is enhanced, and you can continue enjoying the foods and drinks you love.
4. This is an inexpensive way to replace many missing teeth at one go.
5. An Omega Dental specialist will guide you on how to easily clean and maintain your new set of teeth.
6. All on six dental implants will greatly improve your appearance and brighten your smile.
7. Getting these implants will ensure your jaw bone stays in impeccable health and does not wear away.
8. Patients with bone atrophy can still get their confident smiles back, achieved by bone grafting procedure and finally the installation of these implants.
9. You get a shortened healing time with these implants, compared to individual implants.

Disadvantages of All On 6 Dental Implants

As with most other procedures, this missing tooth replacement option also has its cons:

1. A patient with bone jawbone atrophy may miss out on getting these implants.
2. The all on six dental implants may not give the patient a good biting force as they don’t include missing molar replacement.
3. Patients may not get to test out their new fake teeth to ascertain their functionality.
4. Installation requires surgery, which most people don’t like. In cases where bone grafting is involved, the patient will take up a much longer time to heal.
5. The cost of tooth replacement with dental implants is more .

All on 4, All on 6 Dental implants Cost Break down

The permanent teeth fixing cost will vary depending on the implant materials used, the brand, location of your orthodontist, insurance discounts, and more.
Getting all on six dental implants will cost you more than the all on four implants.
We offer both implant options in and around Houston at very competitive rates.

Bridges

A bridge, or a pontic, is a false tooth that your orthodontist will use to replace the missing tooth on your jawbone.
Porcelain is mostly used to make pontics as it marries well with the rest of the teeth. However, there are other cosmetic types made from gold and silver.
Dental bridges mostly come in four types:

1. Traditional
2. mplant-supported
3. Maryland
4. Antilever

The traditional dental bridges are placed on dental crowns attached to abutment teeth. These are especially resourceful when the patient has their natural teeth on each side. They are the most common types of dental bridges.
Implant-supported dental bridges will require dental implants, as opposed to crowns. An implant is surgically installed for each missing tooth to hold the bridge in position. This procedure will ordinarily require two surgeries, one to embed the implant onto the jawbone, and another to put the bridge itself.
Maryland dental bridges use abutment teeth as with the traditional bridge. Instead of using a crown to hold the bridge, a porcelain or metal framework is attached to the abutment teeth.

With cantilever dental bridges, the bridge is placed on a dental crown that is cemented to one of the abutment teeth. To replace missing tooth, you will only need one abutment tooth with this option.

Advantages of Dental Bridges

1. Dental bridges improve your facial aesthetics.
2. Bridges help improve your ability to chew and talk.
3. Filling in the spaces between teeth using bridges helps you to prevent chances of getting periodonttal disease.

Disadvantages of Dental Dentures

Damage to the otherwise very healthy abutment teeth might occur, especially if the restorations and crowns were ill-fitted. This results from bacteria and plaque buildup.

Partial Dentures

Also known as removable dentures, these are used to fill in one or a couple of missing teeth. They are removable and easy to wear again without your dentist’s help.

What are the advantages of partial dentures?

1. Partial dentures are an effective way to replace missing tooth. They are made of a ceramic material attached to a pink base, imitating your gum color.
2. Partial dentures need clasps or precision attachments to connect to your abutment teeth. They ensure your bridges stay in place and give you maximum service.
3. They are a great way of getting a missing molar replacement.

Disadvantages of Partial Dentures

1. Partial dentures tend to cover most of the roof of the mouth, affecting your speech and chewing ability.
2. These dentures are usually larger than your natural teeth, and this may take some getting used to once you start wearing them.
3. Partial dentures may not fully prevent jawbone atrophy.
4. They are removable, and that may eventually lower their effectiveness and functionality.

The Impact of Losing Teeth to Your Health

Missing tooth is unpleasant, as we have seen. Why replace missing teeth? Jawbone atrophy is worsened by gaps in places teeth should be.  Missing teeth bring about loss of gum tissue. Whether it is a missing front tooth or a missing side tooth,the cost of tooth replacement will be less than all the negative effects.

Where To Get Dental Implants In Houston Texas

We are bringing these essential services closer to you, being highly experienced in fixing missing teeth at Omega Dental Specialist, Houston.
We deliver beyond your expectations and walk with you each step to ensure you are smiling with pride again. We are located at 106 W,Gray St Houston TX 77019, and are open Monday through Saturday. Contact Omega Dental Specialists today to book your appointment.

Takeaway

People with missing teeth are predisposed to periodontal disease more than their counterparts with all teeth in place.
Proper dental hygiene and maintenance need not be a tedious and frustrating idea. It also doesn’t need to be too expensive, as we have seen.