In our previous blog, we talked about addressing a single missing tooth with a dental implant and crown. But what if you have a larger gap in your smile, or possibly multiple gaps across your smile? In these situations, your Livonia, MI, dentist could offer dental implant supported bridges and even fixed partial dentures!
The Complications of Advanced Tooth Loss
When we have multiple missing teeth in large gaps or spread out across the smile this could be too much to handle with an individual dental implant. At the same time, traditional bridges and removable partial dentures are limited in scope, lasting only a few years before changes in the jaw ridge necessitates their replacement. But! We can offer prosthetics supported with dental implants, which prevent changes to the jaw ridge and enable your new teeth to stay in place for decades to come, possibly even a lifetime, with proper care and attention. Treating this helps you avoid complications like misalignment, TMJ disorder, bruxism (teeth grinding), issues eating and speaking, or an older appearance and further tooth loss.
Dental Implant Options
A dental bridge is designed to address between one and up to four teeth in a row. Typically, structure is removed from teeth on each side of the gap for us to attach the crown portions of the bridge, securing the new teeth. However, our team can secure dental implants into the jaw, which we attach the crown position of the bridge to. This means you don’t lose natural tooth structure, and these free standing posts help stimulate jawbone growth to keep your smile intact and ensure your new prosthetic can last for years to come.
Our Fixed Partial Dentures
If you have multiple gaps spread out across your smile this could be too severe for a bridge, but you may still have enough natural teeth in place that a full denture is not necessary. With a partial, we can address these in-between stages. The prosthetic portion contains new teeth designed to fit in between the gaps, and these are inserted into an acrylic base that looks like natural tooth structure. Typically, there would be metal clasps that attach to the natural teeth to hold them in place. But we can attach them to multiple dental implant posts, so you have a fixed denture that looks natural.
If you have any questions about how we tackle complicated cases of tooth loss with implant dentistry, then contact our team today to learn more. We want you to smile with confidence, and for years to come!
Do You Have Missing Teeth?
To book a checkup or a consultation and find out what options we have to address tooth loss, call Dr. Stewart’s team today. You can call our office in Livonia, MI, at 734-425-4400. With dental implants, we can offer full and stunning smiles.