If you have recently lost one of your teeth, you understand the difficulties of adjusting to life with an incomplete smile. While the esthetic effects are quite obvious, losing a tooth can quickly diminish the function of your bite. As you move your jaw in awkward angles to avoid the gap in your grin, you can develop repetitive strains that lead to TMJ disorder. Without treatment, neighboring teeth can drift toward your open socket, leading to further complications with your dental alignment. As certain teeth take a disproportionate amount of force from your bite, they can wear down at an accelerated rate. This increases your risks for tooth decay, and gum disease, which in kind can lead to losing additional teeth. However, a dental implant can provide permanent support to restore your smile.
At your Prairie Village, KS, dental practice, we can help you take on dental loss with custom prosthetics that return your teeth’s appearance and function. We can examine your jaw to determine if it is healthy enough for a titanium implant post or discuss alternative prosthetic options such as dental bridges and dentures. Whichever replacement tooth you choose, you will enjoy the confidence of a full smile.
How We Begin To Lose Teeth
While losing a tooth is a rite of passage in childhood, there is no tooth fairy for adults! This means that holding on to your secondary teeth across a lifetime is paramount to maintaining a healthy smile. By understanding the contributing factors of dental loss, we seek to prevent it from happening. Neglecting your oral hygiene can lead to significant decay that wears down your healthy oral structures. When a cavity becomes too large to repair with a filling or dental crown, we may suggest extracting your tooth to prevent decay from reaching additional teeth. However, gum disease is the leading cause of tooth loss among adults. We offer periodontal services to get infections under control before placing replacement teeth.
Placing Your Dental Implant
After taking an X-ray to examine the density of your jawbone, we will let you know if it can support a dental implant. We then insert a titanium post directly through the socket to fuse with your jawbone. Over the coming months, your tissues heal, holding the implant securely in place for decades. We then attach an abutment to the end of your post that can hold a dental crown. For patients with more advanced forms of tooth loss, we could attach a dental bridge or set of dentures.
Talk To Your Prairie Village, KS, Dentist About Restoring Your Missing Tooth!
Losing a tooth does not have to leave a permanent impact on your smile. If you would like to find out more about dental implants or any other service we offer, please call your Prairie Village, KS dentist’s office today at (913)901-8585 or schedule an appointment.
