The quality of a person’s smile can do a lot for their confidence. Issues can arise that lead to people having problems with their smiles, including instances where teeth might be missing. People who have missing teeth have choices to make. They can either tolerate the issue or consult with a dental professional to determine their options. Usually a dental professional will recommend that their patient get outfitted with dentures. This option might not be desirable for some for whatever reason, which could lead to them seeking out alternatives.
Dental Implants
Someone who only has a couple of teeth missing will have an easier time than a person who has a mouth full of them. The process for an implant to be installed in someone’s mouth involves placing a screw into the jawbone that has a tooth attached to it. A problem arises in the fact that dental implants are expensive, most insurance plans don’t cover them, and they require surgery to place. Patients also have to have limited bone loss in order for implants to work.
Overdentures
For people who don’t like how dentures need to be glued to the gums and have the tendency to fall out all the time, there’s overdentures. This appliance involves screws being inserted into a person’s jawbone and then a denture-like appliance being attached. With this system in place, the issues that people might have with dentures are addressed. The treatment needed after overdentures are placed is lengthy, which cannot be ideal for people who want to recover sooner rather than later. Installing an overdenture goes a long way towards ensuring the continued integrity of the jawbone.
Dental Bridges
If someone is considering getting dental implants, they have looked into dental bridges and vice versa. There are benefits to each option with more people leaning on dental implants because of their durability. A dental bridge is a series of artificial teeth that are cemented using remaining teeth as crowns. As time goes on, the structure needed to maintain the dental bridge could become weakened itself, necessitating the possibility for additional work to be done. On the other hand, they close the gap where a missing tooth used to exist, allowing for the patient to continue to chew like they once did.
Ask Your Dentist
Dental issues can’t be resolved unless there is an open line of communication between dental professionals and their patients. These issues can be embarrassing, which leads to the patient not wanting to bring them to the forefront. Keeping these issues private allows for them to continue. Deciding that it’s time to change things and stepping up to finding the solution is the only way for the patient to get any sort of relief. Once a treatment method is chosen, the patient will be left wondering why they waited so long to pursue it in the first place. All that needs to be done is for a conversation to be started. Recovery begins the moment that happens.