When you lose one to three teeth in a row, then you may need a bridge. While effective, your traditional bridges only last about ten years. However, your Livonia, MI, dentist could make them last much longer by securing them with dental implants. In today’s blog, we’re going to explain how we do this, and what benefits this option provides.
When You Need a Bridge
A bridge is a perfect solution for more minor cases of tooth loss, which are not severe enough to be treated with a full or partial denture, but too numerous to be addressed with individual dental implants. Lack of treatment could mean the gap impacts how well you eat, makes speaking clearly difficult, and could lead to issues like misalignment, TMJ disorder, teeth grinding, and even issues like tooth decay and gum disease! If you have minor tooth loss, then come see us right away.
Placing Implants
With a traditional dental bridge, we remove structure from the teeth on each side of the gap in your smile. The crowns on either side of your prosthetic will be placed on them to secure your new teeth. However, with dental implants we don’t need to remove structure from your natural teeth. Instead, we use digital x-rays and intraoral cameras to plan the placement of one or more dental implants. These small screw-like devices will act as new roots, bonding with the jawbone. This means the bone structure doesn’t lose mass and density as it usually would following tooth loss, preserving facial structure and helping your prosthetic last for decades, instead of just ten years.
Crafting and Attaching Your New Smile
After we insert the dental implants and the placement area heals, we will attach the prosthetic. The prosthetic will consist of your new teeth, known as pontics, with crowns attached to each end. We create them from lifelike and durable materials, such as ceramic, which ensures they absorb daily bite forces and offer a natural appearance too. You enjoy a whole and healthy smile that looks great, and restores health and function too. Don’t resign yourself to living with gaps in your smile, instead talk to our team about a long-lasting and lifelike prosthetic supported with implant dentistry. If you have any questions about this process, then please give us a call today to learn more.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT IMPLANT PROSTHETICS AND TOOTH LOSS?
Our team wants to help you maintain a strong and whole smile with our implant-secured dental bridges! To learn more about addressing missing teeth with advanced dental implant technology, then call James Stewart, DDS, dental implant office in Livonia, MI, at (734) 425-4400. We also serve the residents of Farmington, Plymouth, Dearborn Heights, and all surrounding communities.