When you lose a tooth, you could end up with an embarrassing gap on display when you smile. In addition, you could develop serious oral health complications as time passes. However, we have a solution! In today’s blog, your Austin, MN, dentists explain how crowns and bridges provide a lifelike and long-lasting solution for minor tooth loss.
The Impact of a Lost Tooth
Obviously, losing a tooth leaves a space in your smile. However, this space could cause surrounding teeth to begin moving from position, drifting out of alignment. Poor alignment not only worsens smile esthetics, but leads to a higher risk of poor oral health, increasing complications like tooth decay and gum disease. Even a single missing tooth could also throw your smile out of balance, straining jaw joints and leading to a higher likelihood of TMD and bruxism (teeth grinding). To avoid these complications, you need to fill the empty space in your smile.
Designing Your Prosthetic
The prosthetic will be custom-made, as this ensures a proper fit and restored bite balance. We also take time to address esthetics too, making sure your new teeth and crowns blend with your smile and reflect your unique facial structure. We start by removing structure from the teeth on either side of the gap in your smile. These are known as abutment teeth. We then take detailed impressions and images of the smile, which we employ to design and craft the finished product in a dental lab setting. The bridge will consist of new teeth, known as pontics, with crowns on either end. We use ceramic to ensure the crowns and pontics look natural, matching the color and shade of surrounding teeth.
Placing and Maintaining Your New Bridge
We place the crown portions onto the abutment teeth, which secures the pontics firmly in place. With proper care and attention, they have the ability to last for 10 to 15 years on average. Remember, care is necessary as the abutment teeth are still vulnerable to issues like cavities, infection, or gum disease. Make sure you continue to brush and floss your entire smile, even your new portions, and make time to see us for a checkup and cleaning every six months. You should also be sure wand clean any spaces between the top of the gums and the bottom of the bridge, where food particles could accumulate. If you have any questions about replacing missing teeth, then contact our team today.
We Have Solutions for Missing Teeth
For those with one or more missing teeth, we have lifelike and durable prosthetics available. Be sure to contact Potach and Mitchel Dental in Austin, MN, today at 507-437-6312. Our team understands how replacing missing teeth is vital for the health and beauty of your smile.
