Tooth Loss Replacement Options

A missing tooth can not only harm your appearance, but also your health, your ability to eat normally, and even your self-perception. The fact that we have dreams about our teeth at all shows us just how important they are to our psychology. Tooth loss can make us feel “incomplete.” You become insecure or shy about smiling. These issues extend well beyond the purely cosmetic. For example, by having missing teeth the rest of the teeth in your mouth become more likely to move around and to become further misaligned as there’s less holding them in place. Missing teeth impact on what you eat too, and more.

Tooth Loss Replacement Options

Gaps in your teeth from tooth loss will expose your gums which can then be damaged or hurt by bits of food that get between them. Things like food can get stuck, which can be both embarrassing and again quite painful. If they are stuck for a while without your realizing, then this can also damage your teeth as it causes them to be in contact with corrosive elements for drawn-out periods of time. Fortunately, there is a large range of cosmetic dentistry procedures that can prevent this from being a problem and create beautiful smiles that help you physically and psychologically.

Removable Dentures

Removable dentures are one option for managing tooth loss. Dentures fit into the mouth and replace either an entire row of teeth or just the few that are missing (depending on the severity of the problem in the first place). This then makes us look as though we have a full mouth of teeth, but this won’t be functionally equivalent to having all of our teeth. When you have removable dentures you see you will always have that ‘hanging over’ you as you’ll know that your teeth aren’t your own.

This means that when you go to bed at night with a partner you will be forced to have to take out your teeth and expose your ‘real’ smile. This can be again something that many people feel shy to do. At the same time, removable dentures mean that you still are limited in what you can eat and this means you have to take them out at the dinner table which is again quite unpleasant and often embarrassing. Removable dentures also don’t offer the same structural support.

Dental Implants

If you are looking for a more permanent solution, then dental implants are a common option. These are screwed into your gums and jaws permanently and though this is relatively painful, it will result in permanently attached teeth that give you the feeling of having your own teeth back. Psychologically this can make a massive impact on the way you feel about yourself and your oral health as you no longer have anything missing. Implant surgery is a fairly painful procedure but is the one that results in the most permanent and good looking teeth as a result. At the same time implant surgery is something that can transform your smile relatively quickly. For the young, and for those who want to have their own healthy and strong teeth, dental implants are perhaps the most permanent solution.

Bridge

For those who don’t want to go through the implant surgery, however, or for those who are slightly older who perhaps wouldn’t cope well with the pain, there are other forms of cosmetic dentistry that can have the same effect: such as a bridge. This means that if you have just one or two gaps, you can fill these in and create beautiful smiles without the pain of multiple implants. However of course this form of cosmetic dentistry is slightly less durable than implant dentistry, and at the same time, it can only be performed on those who have enough teeth remaining for the new bridge to be anchored on to. In other words, your bridge can only be placed where there is a tooth on either side to hold it in place, vastly limiting the amount of improvement this can do.

One great way to replace gaps in your teeth then is to combine these two methods – to use implants in order to fill some gaps and then using bridges across these to make the procedure less painful and invasive. This too can result in beautiful smiles and offers a ‘compromise route’.

However, the options are not limited to these few and there are plenty of things the dentists in Omaha at Regency Dental can do for you to replace gaps and create beautiful smiles. Speak to your dentists about what cosmetic dentistry procedures could be available for you.

Regency Family Dentistry Omaha | Best Omaha Dentist near Westroads Mall in Regency

Whether your teeth needs are a:

complete exam and cleaning,
full-mouth restoration
or anything in between

We promise to provide you with exceptional care as we enhance the natural beauty of your smile. Below are just some of the many procedures and dental services we regularly provide to our patients – with a gentle touch, and stunning results. Your smile is our first priority, and we’ll give you something to smile about.