Do your missing teeth make it hard to eat comfortably? Are multiple missing teeth affecting your confidence in your smile? Receive restorative dental care and replace your missing teeth in our Wayne, PA, dental office. Just one missing tooth can affect your whole smile. Replacing missing teeth with dental implants and implant-secured restorations can improve your oral health and the appearance of your smile.
Problems Caused By Missing Teeth
If you do not replace a missing permanent tooth soon enough, you can experience these issues:
- Further bone loss
- Facial sagging
- Difficulty biting and chewing
- Irregular or crooked teeth
- Shifting teeth
- Overcrowded teeth
Missing teeth not only cause aesthetic issues but can leave other teeth more prone to loss, especially if you lose a permanent tooth to decay. If there is no support from a missing tooth, the surrounding jaw bone will shrink, leading to facial sagging and loss of the facial structure. Remaining teeth may also shift to close the gap left by a missing tooth, leading to overcrowding. It is important to visit the dentist if you notice a change in your smile. Even if you already have one or more missing teeth, it’s never too late to visit.
Our office wants patients to feel welcome when they visit. We provide a judgment-free space where patients can feel comfortable discussing their needs and receive the right care for their smiles.
3 Ways to Replace Missing Teeth
There are three common methods of replacing missing teeth:
- Dental Implants: Implants are durable titanium posts that we secure in the jaw bone to provide a stable foundation for a false tooth or teeth. Dental implants are one of the most multifunctional restorations because they can secure a dental crown, bridge, or denture. Because implant posts fuse with the jaw bone, they create restorations that feel and look natural.
- Dental Bridges: Traditional dental bridges use natural, crown-capped teeth to secure a false tooth. However, it is unnecessary to cover healthy teeth with crowns. Implant-secured bridges or just a single crown-capped implant can replace one or more consecutive missing teeth.
- Dentures: When people think of dentures, they typically think of removable dentures that require adhesives to stay in place. However, while removable dentures restore the look of a smile, they do not restore full tooth function. Instead, we recommend implant-secured dentures. Dental implants support false teeth at the root, making it easier for patients to bite and chew. With implant-supported dentures, patients can enjoy more food than before and find that their implant dentures function like natural teeth.
Do you have missing teeth but don’t know which dental restoration to pick? Call Wayne Family Dentistry at 610-347-5133, and we can find the right treatment for you. You can also feel free to schedule a dental consultation with us on our website. Our team will thoroughly examine your smile to determine which restoration is best for your number of missing teeth.