Losing a tooth might seem like something minor, but the effects of missing teeth can have long-term impacts on both your oral health and well-being. Whether it was due to injury, decay, or age, there is a need to replace missing teeth to maintain healthy, functional, and confident smiles. Fortunately, several reliable solutions are available for replacing missing teeth: dentures, implants, and bridges. Here’s why you should replace missing teeth and an overview of the treatment options.a

Now that you know how important it is, let’s talk about the
three main options to replace the missing teeth: dentures, dental implants, and bridges.

1. Dentures

What Are Dentures? Dentures are removable prosthetic
appliances designed to replace multiple or all missing teeth. The two main types of dentures are complete dentures, which are designed to replace all the teeth in the upper or lower jaw, and partial dentures, which are designed to fill gaps when some natural teeth remain.

Advantages of Dentures

• Cost-Effective: Dentures are usually less expensive than implants or bridges, making them a very popular option for extreme tooth loss.

• Non-Invasive: The dentures do not involve surgery, so it is a good option for those who do not like surgery or have some form of health issue that doesn’t allow surgery.

• Customizable: The modern dentures are created to be comfortable and as natural-looking as possible.

Disadvantages of Dentures:

• Less Stability: The dentures may shift or become uncomfortable, especially when the jawbone changes.

• Maintenance: They need to be cleaned every day and taken out at night and soaked.

• From time to time, Periodic Replacement: Since your jaw is constantly changing, you might require adjustments or replacement from time to time.

2. Dental Implants

What are dental implants? Dental implants refer to the
titanium posts implanted in the jawbone with a surgical procedure to provide artificial tooth roots. Following this, there is the attachment of the crown to the implant that forms a stable, permanent replacement of a single tooth or some teeth.

Advantages of dental implants:

• Long-Term Solution: Dental implants are quite durable, and if maintained properly, they can serve for many years.

• Natural Look and Feel: You can enjoy all the mouth functions as in the normal case because they look like natural teeth, and hence you can speak, smile, and even eat fearlessly.

• Preserves Jawbone: This stimulates the jawbone by preventing its loss, thereby maintaining a facial structure.

• Higher initial cost: In comparison, implants are initially more costly than other choices, though they are economical in the long run.

• Surgery is Involved: Implants are surgical and cannot be accommodated by everybody.

• Recovery time: The whole process of implants requires bone integration time and that takes months.

What Are Dental Bridges?

A dental bridge is a fixed appliance used to replace one or more missing teeth. It works by anchoring an artificial tooth (or teeth) to the adjacent healthy teeth, creating a “bridge” that bridges the gap.

Pros of Dental Bridges:

• Natural Appearance: Bridges are tailor-made to match your natural teeth in color and shape, giving you a smooth look.

• Permanent Solution: Unlike false teeth, bridges do not need to be removed as they are fixed on the teeth. Therefore, they are more stable and are not required to be removed from the mouth.

• Shorter Process: Unlike implants, there are also fewer visits and a faster turnaround time with a dental bridge.

Dental Bridge Disadvantages

• Teeth on Either Side must be Ground: For an implant, the healthy side of the gap will require reshaping to carry on the bridge which can, therefore, damage them.

• No Jawbone Stimulation: Unlike implants, bridges don’t stimulate the jawbone, which may lead to bone loss over time.

• Possible Wear: Indue course of time, bridges can wear out since the supporting teeth erode away.