Missing teeth can certainly affect a person’s confidence. Luckily, there are various options for replacing missing teeth, so let’s discuss them. 

Exploring Replacement Options for Missing Teeth

A missing tooth or, even worse, missing teeth, can be a real blow to anyone’s confidence. This kind of accident can happen due to various different reasons. Typical causes of missing teeth include, among other things, physical injuries, periodontal disease, intense tooth decay, or perhaps, a genetic condition of some sort. Despite the cause of your missing tooth, many things can go wrong now that empty space is left in its place. 

The proper alignment of your teeth can become threatened, and this turn of events can negatively impact your oral health in general. Luckily, there are various missing teeth replacement options, and if you want to learn more about the best options out there or perhaps schedule an appointment, Millennium Dental has got you covered. So, let’s get into discussing these tooth replacement solutions. 

Missing Teeth Replacement Options 

While missing teeth can be a bother, there are, luckily, many different replacement solutions. Here, we will be going over them, so let’s start.

Dental Implants 

The first option we will be discussing is also the most common one. Dental implants are a go-to solution for missing teeth due to their reliability. They are also very natural-looking and can entirely blend in with your actual teeth. Dental implants are a great solution regardless of the number of teeth that need to be replaced, and they’re also a good investment if we consider that, with proper care, they can be your lifelong companions. 

Now, the whole process of getting dental implants placed can be lengthy. Firstly, your dentist will replace the root of your tooth using screws made from metal. These metal screws will essentially play the role of an anchor that the implant tooth will be placed on. The healing process, when it comes to the implant itself, can last for a couple of months. However, once it is done, a dental crown will be placed on top and secured, which is the last step of the procedure.  

Implant-Supported Bridge 

An implant-supported bridge is kind of like a dental implant. However, instead of standing on their own, in this case, the false teeth are connected, essentially forming a bridge. The two ends of the implant bridge are secured, while the middle teeth are held in place by the whole construction. 

Tooth-Supported bridge

A tooth-supported bridge is an alternative version of the implant-supported bridge. However, instead of being supported by dental implants, it is held in place by your natural teeth. It comes with a few alterations, however, namely the fact that implants are inserted into your already existing teeth. That is the quickest out of the already mentioned options, and it’s a rather simple procedure that will only take a couple of appointments to be finalized. 

Dentures 

Dentures are a simple solution for missing teeth replacement. Whether you need to replace all your teeth or only several, you can get full dentures or partial ones. Additionally, partial dentures are a very practical solution if your missing teeth are located next to each other. 

Can You Replace All Teeth With Implants?

Now that we briefly went over some of the possible options for permanent teeth replacement, let’s dig a bit deeper and go over the question of; “Can all teeth be replaced with dental implants?” 

Well, the short answer is yes, and there are special dental implant types for these occasions. 

All on 4 Dental Implants

All on four implants are a specific type of dental implant procedure, that differs in ways from the typical dental implant procedure. So, how do all on 4 implants work? Well, it’s actually quite simple, essentially, your sets of teeth, be it upper, lower, or both, are replaced with these four implants that are meant to serve as a mechanism of support for your new full set of artificial teeth. All-on-four is also quite an interesting procedure since it doesn’t require the same amount of bone density for the implant to remain secured. This can be rather beneficial for patients whose bone density makes them problematic candidates for other tooth replacement procedures of this genre. 

And, they also very much stand the test of time if you give them utmost care, of course. These implants may take a little bit of getting used to, so chewing might seem tricky at first, but once you get used to them, everything will go smoothly. 

Pros and Cons of Each Solution

Lastly, it’s important to note that all of these tooth replacement options come with their pros and cons. To help you make your choice let’s go over those real quick.

Dental Implants Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Most effective solution for tooth replacement
• Very natural-looking and feeling
• Adjacent teeth will be intact with this procedure
• Permanent, lifetime investment

Cons: 

• They are amongst the most expensive tooth replacement solutions
• Dental implants are a surgical procedure, which requires a lot of healing time, and brings along a risk of infection

All on 4 Dental Implants – Why and Why Not

Pros:

• Fast treatment
• Easy to take care of
• Entirely natural-looking
• A very high success rate

Cons:

• They are also quite expensive
• May cause problems with tenderness in the recovery phase
• May cause temporary speech problems

Implant-Supported Bridge Pros and Cons

Pros:

• They are efficient but not very expensive
• They also look very natural 

Cons:

• They are only useful under specific conditions, like when only a couple of teeth in a row are missing
• They are not a permanent lifelong solution for missing teeth
• Numerous dentist appointments will be needed

Tooth-Supported Bridge Pros and Cons

Pros:

• They are very realistic-looking
• The procedure is very simple and not invasive
• They are not very expensive in comparison to dental implants

Cons:

• Higher chance of infection
• The adjacent teeth are at risk of damage
• Due to food particles being able to slip under the bridge, there is a heightened risk of infection

Dentures Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Dentures are a cheap, flexible, and effective solution
• They are pretty easy to repair
• The application process is straightforward and simple

Cons:

• They may get uncomfortable
• Cleaning them can be bothersome and time-consuming
• They do not look as natural as the other options