When you lose a tooth, or up to three in a row, then you may need a dental prosthetic. This could help prevent complications and safeguard your smile. In today’s blog, your Newhall, CA, dentist talks about how we craft and secure a set of lifelike dental bridges, and the long-term benefits this offers for your oral health.
The Impact of Untreated Tooth Loss
Losing even one tooth could mean serious trouble for your oral health and appearance. For example, this could cause the advanced teeth to move from their positions due to the gap, leading to dental misalignment and an increased risk of tooth decay and gum disease, as brushing and flossing becomes more difficult. Missing teeth could upset bite balance and strain your jaw joints, which could lead to TMJ disorder and bruxism (teeth grinding). Missing teeth could impact how clearly you speak, and could also make eating your favorite foods difficult too. Treating missing teeth could improve the function, health, and beauty of your smile!
Creating a Lifelike Prosthetic
For minor tooth loss, we could recommend a dental bridge. Each one is custom-made for your smile to ensure a comfortable fit and a lifelike appearance. To begin, we will numb the teeth on each side of the gap and remove structure from them. These are known as abutment teeth. We next take detailed images of these teeth and use them to design and craft the prosthetic. The bridge contains new teeth, known as pontics, with crowns attached to each side. Made from ceramic, these can absorb daily bite forces and will be shaded to blend with your smile seamlessly.
Securing a Bridge
We attach the crowns to the abutment teeth with a powerful bonding agent. This anchors your new teeth into place. Your prosthetic will likely last about 10 to 15 years, although we could also offer a dental implant option. Instead of removing structure from abutment teeth, we insert one to two dental implants into the jaw. We then attach the prosthetic to them, which preserves tooth structure. The dental implants act as new roots and stimulate the growth of jawbone tissue, so they can last for decades to come, or possibly even a lifetime!
If you have any questions about how to address missing teeth with a dental bridge, then contact our team today to learn more. We want you to smile once again with confidence!
Talk To Your Newhall, CA Dentist About Replacing Missing Teeth
Our team is eager to help you smile with confidence following your tooth loss. If you would like to learn more about treating missing teeth with a custom dental prosthetic, then contact your Newhall, CA, dentist, Dr. Tajik, by calling (661) 259-7760.