Losing one of your teeth can be quite upsetting. While the effect on your smile can be embarrassing, dental loss can quickly degrade your oral health. This is because each one of our teeth is vital to completing our entire bite. You may find your words sound different when you lose the ability to articulate certain sounds. To prevent harming your open gap, you may have to remove certain favorite foods from your diet. Left untreated, your neighboring remaining teeth can begin to drift into the open position. This further upsets the alignment of your bite and can require additional work to correct. As parts of your bite take on a disproportionate amount of your bite’s force, they can begin to wear down. If this wear and tear breaks the enamel, you become susceptible to tooth decay and gum disease. To protect yourself against these potential difficulties, we could replace your tooth with a prosthetic to restore your smile.
At your Ankeny, IA dental practice, we understand the hardship of missing teeth. When you visit our office to discuss your restorative options, we can take measurements of your mouth and jaw to determine if you are a candidate for dental implants. This solution secures directly within your jawbone to return your bite with a dental crown. By learning more about this treatment for dental loss, you can discover that missing teeth need not be permanent.
Losing One Of Your Teeth
Tooth loss can occur from advanced forms of tooth decay and physical trauma, but the most common cause is gum disease. When oral bacteria associated with plaque and tartar infect your gum tissue, your body’s inflammatory response causes the gum and jaw bone to dissolve. Left untreated, a periodontal infection destroys the connection to your teeth, and they can fall out. This is why we will attempt to get your gum disease under control before restoring any missing teeth.
Receiving A Dental Implant
If we discover that your jawbone is healthy enough, we can place a titanium implant post directly through your socket into the jaw. The biocompatible nature of your post allows your oral tissues to fuse, securing your implant for years to come. After healing from this procedure, we can place a dental crown above your gumline to complete your prosthodontic restoration. At follow-up appointments, we will inspect your new tooth to see that it holds strongly in place.
Speak With Your Ankeny, IA Dentist About Replacing Your Missing Teeth!
While living with missing teeth can be rather difficult, it does not have to be permanent. We can create a prosthetic tooth to complete your smile and restore the power of your bite. To learn more about receiving a replacement tooth, schedule an appointment with your Ankeny, IA dentist at (515) 207-6182.
