BRIDGES, IMPLANTS, AND DENTURES:
3 WAYS TO REPLACE MISSING TEETH
Do you hide your smile because you are missing teeth? Is it hard for you to chew food? If you have problems because of missing teeth, you should see us. Together, we can talk about choices that may help fix your smile.
BRIDGES
Bridges are used when one or a few teeth are missing. They replace the missing tooth or teeth with false ones. A permanent or fixed bridge is cemented onto specially prepared teeth on either side of the space.
IMPLANTS
Implants are metal tooth roots that are placed into the jawbone through minor surgery. The bone and gums grow around the implant to hold it in place. A single false tooth, called a crown, can be screwed onto a single implant. More than 1 implant also can be placed. These implants can attach to a bridge or denture when more than 1 tooth is missing. Implants are not meant to come out.
DENTURES
Full dentures (sometimes called false teeth) may be used to restore the smile when all natural teeth have been lost. The denture looks like a full set of teeth mounted on an acrylic base made to look like gums. Dentures can be held in place with implants or by a seal that forms between the denture base and the gums with saliva, along with the muscles of your cheeks and tongue. Sometimes adhesives (or denture creams) may be used to help hold the denture in place.
