4 Possible Solutions for Missing Teeth
You wouldn’t say your teeth determine your identity, right?
Unfortunately, it’s proven that your dental appearance influences people’s judgment of your personal characteristics. This includes your intellect, social competence, and psychological adjustment.
Your teeth may not determine your identity, but they will determine your appearance. And as nature dictated, you only get one set of permanent teeth. Lucky for you, human innovation allows you to defy nature itself.
Missing teeth can be a thing of the past. You can stick it to nature and choose any of these missing teeth solutions!
1. Dental Implants
What are dental implants? In ascending order, it’s the common, more expensive, and most permanent solution for one or more missing teeth.
It requires surgery to mount a titanium post into your jaw, which will anchor your new tooth. The teeth replacement look, feel, and function like natural teeth. Despite the prolonged healing period, they can last a lifetime once in place.
It also provides jaw protection since the metal posts mounted to your jaw mimic teeth roots. This maintained pressure prevents jawbone loss and facial collapse due to bone resorption.
2. Dental Bridge
As the name implies, dental bridges bridge the gap of missing teeth with an artificial tooth (pontic). Pontics range from plastic all the way to gold.
Unlike dental implants, they’re typically replaced after five to seven years. On the plus side, they’re usually less expensive upfront. Invasiveness varies depending on your bridge support.
Implant-Supported Bridge
This is the preferred bridge if you have multiple missing teeth in a row. Instead of each tooth, only the two end teeth require metal post implants. The implanted ends support the bridge in the middle without additional metal screws.
Tooth Supported Bridge
This solution is less invasive but requires your natural teeth to support the bridge. The bridge attaches to your teeth with dental crowns or frameworks. Your dentist can anchor your bridge to two, or just one, natural teeth.
3. Removable Dentures
Removable dentures are the most quintessential fake teeth. However, unlike the previous options, these have an artificial base you can remove.
There are partial removable denture options as well. And yes, they also come with a classic pink base. Partial dentures are a good choice if you have multiple missing teeth that aren’t in a row.
4. Flipper Tooth
A flipper tooth is a temporary tooth replacement for one or two missing teeth. It’s painless and less intrusive but is temporary by design. They’re a great option to cover up missing teeth while waiting for more permanent teeth replacement.
Why Do You Need to Fix Missing Teeth?
After the age of 13, missing teeth stop being goofy and start being embarrassing for most people. Even setting obvious aesthetic reasons aside, there are plenty of eventual consequences. These include:
- Jaw misalignment or shrinking
- Chewing difficulty
- Malocclusions of remaining teeth
- Facial deformation
- Speech problems
Depending on where the missing tooth is, changes to your appearance might not always be obvious. Also, a missing molar won’t affect your self-esteem as much as losing a front tooth. However, just one lost tooth anywhere in your mouth can result in irreversible damage over time.
Get Back Those Missing Teeth
It’s more practical than vain to acknowledge that your appearance influences your social life. Your dental appearance affects society’s perception of you. Hence, missing teeth can make you miss out on opportunities and relationships.
Take your pick from these solutions and get your smile back! For more solutions, check out our other guides.
