For most dental health concerns, there are several different options for treating them. The best choice usually depends on things like the extent of your condition and your own personal preferences for your smile and oral health. Because everyone’s needs and preferences are different, offering choices helps ensure that everyone receives the optimal, highly personalized care they need. The same is true when it comes to replacing your lost teeth. Though your options may be more limited, you still have a choice in how you rebuild your smile, and in just how lifelike your dental prosthesis can be.
The art of prosthetic dentistry
Prosthetic dentistry is the branch of dental care that involves designing and placing lifelike replacement teeth. It’s an artform because rebuilding your smile is a highly artistic procedure, but also a science in that your prosthesis has to function like your natural teeth, as well. To accomplish that with optimal results, your prosthesis will be designed according to highly precise measurements and molds of your teeth and dental ridges, allowing for a high level of accuracy in replicating the size, shape, and contour of your healthy, natural teeth before they were lost.
Choosing a dental bridge or denture
To many patients, the most obvious choices between prosthetic dental treatments are between dental bridges, partial dentures, and full dentures. For example, if you’ve lost a single tooth, you’ll need a dental bridge to replace it. A bridge might also replace multiple adjacent teeth, but not multiple teeth that are in different areas along your dental ridge. For that, you may need a partial denture, depending on how many teeth you’ve lost, as long as you still retain some healthy, fully functional teeth. A full denture is the best solution for rebuilding your entire dental ridge with a full set of lifelike replacement teeth.
The option of implanted support
For most dental bridges and dentures, you might also have a choice of how you want your prosthesis to be supported. With dental implants, which are small posts made to mimic your lost teeth roots, you can give your replacement teeth the same supportive system that your healthy, natural teeth enjoy. Implant posts are placed within your jawbone and used to support your bridge or denture, eliminating the need for supportive structures like abutment teeth (for bridges) and hidden clasps (for partial dentures).
Rebuild your smile after tooth loss
You have several options for replacing lost teeth, depending on the extent of your tooth loss and whether you want your prosthesis to be implanted or not. To learn more, schedule an appointment by calling Peddicord Family Dentistry in Ankeny, IA, today at (515) 963-3339. We also proudly serve patients of all ages who live in Bondurant, Polk City, Elkhart, Alleman, Cambridge, and all surrounding communities.