If you are living with a missing tooth, you understand how much it can affect your day-to-day life. Not only is the esthetic effect on your smile apparent, but common daily activities can become much more difficult. You may find yourself avoiding once favorite foods that now harm the open socket in your grin. Because we use our teeth to aid in speech, losing a tooth can impact your voice. Without treatment, neighboring teeth can begin to drift into the open area, causing increased problems with dental misalignment. Also known as malocclusion, misalignment can increase your risk for tooth decay and gum disease, which are factors that contribute to additional missing teeth! Fortunately, we could design a prosthetic replacement to stabilize your smile and return your bite. A dental bridge provides a nonsurgical tooth replacement option that rests upon crowns placed on the remaining teeth.
At your Ankeny, IA, dental practice, we provide restorative solutions to help you regain your smile after suffering from injury, decay, or disease. This means taking special measurements of your oral structures to design a prosthetic that returns the natural look of a healthy tooth. When you enjoy the comfort of a dental bridge, you gain the confidence that comes with regaining your oral abilities.
Identifying Factors That Lead To Losing Teeth
By understanding contributing causes that threaten the stability of your smile, you can prevent additional tooth loss. While certain events like freak accidents or other injuries may be completely unpredictable, collecting your missing or damaged tooth and scheduling an emergency dental appointment may lead to restoring your smile. At your visit, we will determine if the knocked-out tooth can be saved, and if not, begin discussing your options for prosthetic replacement.
We also place dental bridges for patients who lose teeth due to advanced cases of tooth decay. When decay destroys so much healthy material that a filling or crown cannot be placed, a bridge can help return your smile. However, the leading cause of missing teeth today is gum disease. By receiving periodontal maintenance therapy for your infection, we can reduce the odds of losing teeth to gum tissue loss.
Placing Your Bridge
After inspecting your open socket, we will take measurements to design your custom bridge. When the prosthetic is complete, we will attach crowns to the remaining teeth to hold your replacement tooth in place. With proper care, this solution can last for many years. Please continue to brush and floss daily to preserve your healthy smile!
Talk To Your Ankeny, IA, Dentist About Replacing Your Tooth
Losing a tooth does not need to leave a permanent hole in your smile! If you would like to learn more about this prosthetic option or any other we offer, please contact your Ankeny, IA, dentist’s office at (515) 207-6182 to schedule a visit.
