Ignoring missing or damaged teeth have many unintended consequences
How Missing Teeth Affect Function:
The bone around the teeth serves one purpose – to support your natural teeth. Once teeth are removed, that bone no longer has a purpose and it diminishes rapidly over time. The remaining teeth will begin to loosen or shift, making chewing more difficult. Joint and muscular pain can occur because the missing teeth alter the bite and the way teeth interlock with one another. With fewer teeth for chewing, nutrition is compromised. You no longer can enjoy your favorite foods because your diet is limited to liquids and soft foods.
How Missing Teeth affect appearance:
When some or all of the teeth are missing, the jaw bone will shrink over time. Missing teeth cause facial features to change, which can make you look prematurely old. The lips and cheeks no longer are properly supported, resulting in a “sunken-in” appearance. Your self-confidence is affected, causing you to cover your mouth while speaking and avoid smiling, laughing, and social situations.
European Denture Center wants you to enjoy life and smile with confidence. Restorative solutions can be accomplished in as little as one day. We have a great variety of options to restore missing and damaged teeth, giving you the self-confidence to live your best life!
Stages of tooth loss:
How missing teeth affect your health
No missing teeth
Teeth properly interlock with one another and allow efficient chewing for proper digestion. Your teeth support your lips, cheeks, and other facial structures. Smiling and laughing are a normal part of your everyday life.
A single missing tooth
After a tooth is removed, the bone that supported the tooth begins to dissolve. Neighboring teeth start to shift and move into the empty space, affecting the alignment of your teeth and your bite. A missing tooth leaves an unsightly gap making you less confident in social settings.
Multiple missing teeth
Bone loss is more severe after multiple teeth are removed. This allows the remaining teeth begin to shift into the spaces created by the missing teeth. Chewing is compromised and your nutrition suffers. Support of the lips and checks changes, resulting in a visibly altered appearance. Friends and family may wonder why you look different.
All teeth are missing
Bone loss is visibly significant after all of the teeth have been extracted. Jaw joint or muscle pain may result from the jaws closing further than they are accustomed to. With no teeth for chewing, a limited diet of soft foods becomes necessary. This results in poor nutrition, which affects your overall health. Without the support provided by teeth and jaw bones, the lower third of your face collapses, making you look older than you are.
Treatment solutions for missing teeth
A Single Missing Tooth
An implant-supported crown
The implant stimulates the bone and helps to maintain the bone level over your lifetime. Neighboring teeth are not changed or used as support for the crown. The implant functions just like the natural tooth that it replaced. You can chew and bite with confidence. Brush and floss daily, just like your natural teeth.
Removable partial denture
A removable partial denture is the traditional tooth replacement option and the most economical solution. It also may be used as an interim option while you are preparing for a more permanent long-term solution due to financial or health considerations. It must be removed for cleaning. Since a partial denture is not a permanent fixture in your mouth, it is less stable for biting. Chewing with a partial may be more difficult as compared with fixed bridgework or implant-supported crowns.
Multiple Missing Teeth
An implant-supported crowns and bridges
Implants stimulate the bone and help to maintain bone levels over your lifetime. Neighboring teeth are not altered or used as additional support. The implants function much like the natural teeth that they replaced. With implant-supported crowns and bridges, you can chew with confidence.
Removable partial denture
This is the most economical solution and the traditional tooth replacement approach for multiple missing teeth. A partial may also be used as an interim option while saving for a more permanent long-term solution. The partial must be removed for cleaning. Chewing with a partial denture may be more difficult than with implant-supported bridgework.
All Teeth are Missing
Implant-supported full-mouth bridgework
Multiple implants stimulate the bone and help maintain bone level over your lifetime. More bone means that you look more youthful and vibrant. With implant-supported bridgework, you can chew and bite just like you could when you were younger and had your natural teeth. Implant-supported bridgework is a long-term tooth replacement option designed to last for many years.
Implant-Retained Denture
This option uses implants to stimulate and maintain bone level for denture and facial support. The denture snaps onto the implants creating a denture that is stable and doesn’t slide while eating or talking. It eliminates the need for denture adhesives to help hold the denture in place. The denture is removed for cleaning and daily care.
Complete Denture
This is the traditional tooth replacement approach when all teeth are missing. It is also the most economical full-arch tooth replacement solution. The denture is removed for cleaning. Chewing is less efficient and may be more difficult than with the other options mentioned. Denture adhesives may be necessary, especially with lower dentures, to help the denture feel secure.
Your treatment
Treatment solutions depend on many factors, including your overall health. Every treatment option may not be appropriate for all patients. Our highly trained and caring staff will discuss with you the best treatment options for your unique situation. We will offer appropriate options to address your needs, wants, and your budget while restoring your smile and affording you the confidence to be the best version of yourself.
After-Treatment Care
In all cases, treatment doesn’t end with the initial treatment you receive. Your mouth will continue to change and evolve over time. Maintaining diligent oral hygiene at home is key to the success of any treatment plan. Ongoing follow-up care and maintenance by your dentist and hygienist at regular intervals are required to help the longevity of your oral health and to protect your financial investment.