In the post from last week, we talked about missing teeth, what could be the main causes and how common it is. We also mentioned why should you replace them (self-confidence, diet, overall health etc.).
Now that we have all that covered, we will focus a little more on the alternatives and options when you want to replace missing teeth.
Options to replace missing teeth
There is more than one option or alternative when you want to replace your missing teeth. Every option is great or its own reasons but not every option is suitable for every patient. The main factor that determines which option is the “right one” is your overall health, whether you’re missing one tooth or more and what is your budget.
To make sure that you pick the right decision for yourself, we recommend that you talk to your dentist first and see what he/she recommend and what are the PROs and CONs of each option.
Partial denture
If you’re missing one or more teeth but your budget isn’t that big, you can opt in to have a partial denture fitted.
Partial dentures are made from an acrylic plate or metal frame (both removable) which hold one or more artificial teeth in place.
Since this is an inexpensive option, it also has the shortest lifespan – the majority of patients say that it lasts up to 5 years in 40% of the time.
Dentures are removable and they don’t function the same way natural teeth do.
Replace missing teeth with a resin-bonded bridge
Unlike dentures, this option has a much higher success rate and they last more than five years in 88% of the cases.
With resin-bonded bridges, the artificial tooth is fixed to the back of the adjacent natural tooth, with metal “wings”.
The good thing about this is that it has a pretty long lifespan, but sometimes you can see the metal wing that holds the artificial tooth. That’s one of the drawback of this replacement option.
Conventional bridges
Unlike the resin-bonded bridge, a conventional bridge fixes the artificial tooth to the adjacent natural tooth by a crown.
Compared to the previous two replacement options for missing teeth, this one has the highest success rate. There is only one potential drawback. In order for the dental crown to fit, the adjacent natural tooth needs to be filed down. This means that some of the structural integrity of the natural tooth will be compromised.
Replace missing teeth with dental implants
Among all the replacement options for missing teeth, dental implants have the highest success rate and they are also an option that act closes as your natural teeth.
Unlike the other options they also help you maintain the bone structure after tooth loss so you don’t run a risk of teeth shifting, jawbone deformation or bone loss.
The success rate of dental implants is superb and many of them last a lifetime and they can be treated exactly like your natural teeth.
Because of all this, dental implants are the most expensive options, but since their lifespan is so long, this helps offset the initial cost of the replacement.
In case you have lost a tooth or more than one tooth, and you need to replace them, make sure to first contact us and schedule a consultation so we could see which missing teeth replacement option would be best suited for you particular situation.
