RESTORING MISSING TEETH

When a tooth is removed it is important to the health of the surrounding teeth to replace it. A space in the mouth can allow surrounding teeth to shift, compromising the bone around those teeth and can eventually lead to further tooth loss. Having missing teeth also makes it harder to chew, and so as we try to compensate for this, we put extra pressure on the teeth we have left and can cause damage to those over time, so it is important that we replace missing teeth.

We can do this in a number of ways depending on the situation. A bridge is used in a situation when there are teeth on either side of the space. It is cemented in and can't routinely be taken in or out.

A partial denture is a denture that replaces a few teeth but not all the teeth. This can be removed, and is used in situations where a bridge can't be used (like when there is not an available back tooth to anchor a bridge to) or when there are multiple areas on both sides of the mouth where teeth are missing .

An implant can be used in many situations. An implant is a device which is anchored into the bone where the missing tooth was, and we put a tooth on top of this implant. Like a bridge, this is a way to replace a tooth or teeth without having something removable. It also allows us to replace the teeth without having to do anything to the surrounding teeth.