When you lose a tooth due to extraction or trauma, you may feel overwhelmed by the choices when it comes to replacing your missing tooth. You may wonder if your tooth is worth replacing at all and if you should proceed with treatment.
Why Replacing Missing Teeth Is Important
If you lose a tooth, it leaves a gap in your smile. Your remaining teeth will naturally fall toward that gap because there is nothing there to hold them in place. Even your opposing teeth will begin to erupt super or come out of the gums because no opposing tooth is there to stop it. In most cases, we do recommend that you replace a missing tooth to protect your bite and your oral health.
The Function of a Dental Bridge
In many cases, we will recommend a dental implant to replace a missing tooth because it provides many health benefits, such as bone retention. Some patients want or need an alternative to dental implants because of health, lifestyle, or budgetary limitations. A dental bridge can provide a method of completing your smile while also holding your other teeth in place by filling the gap left by tooth loss.
A dental bridge consists of three (or more) crowns. Two dental crowns on adjacent healthy teeth will hold one or two artificial teeth in place. If your dental bridge is part of your massive chewing structure (molars and bicuspids), you may choose a dental implant to provide your deck with more stability in combination with your bridge. It allows us to replace more teeth without the need for a partial denture.
Dental Bridges in Yuma AZ
Bridges are one of the most reliable ways to fill the gap in your smile and have been around for decades. At our Yuma dental office, we create natural-looking dental bridges that blend in with your smile. They do not have the same bone-preserving benefits of dental implants, but they offer patients a solution when dental implants are not possible. Learn about 3 affordable cosmetic dentistry options.
To learn more about tooth-replacement options, contact our Yuma dental office today.
