You’ve done everything in your power to keep your teeth healthy. You brush and floss regularly, you schedule your dental checkups twice each year, and you follow your dentist’s advice as much as possible. Even with your best intentions, tooth loss is a condition that many of us will confront during our lifetimes.
Your tooth loss may be due to a tooth extraction as the result of a failed root canal treatment, extensive gum disease, or a forceful injury. No matter the reason for the loss, you’ve still got a chance to maintain a healthy smile, but it helps to familiarize yourself with all of your options. With this knowledge, you can make an educated decision about what’s best for your health.
There are a number of treatment solutions after a tooth extraction, though there are some solutions that are more effective than others. Here is a look at your tooth replacement options listed from most ideal to least:
- Dental implants – These strong, attractive, and lifelike replacement teeth are the most conservative and most successful solution currently available. Implants can be placed in any location in the mouth and provide positive stimulation to the jawbone without compromising the health of the adjacent teeth.
- Permanent dental bridge – This permanent restoration effectively restores your biting and chewing capacity and has an attractive cosmetic appeal, though it does not stimulate the bone and can only function when it is bonded to at least two of your natural teeth.
- Removable denture or partial denture – Though these restorations are tough to stabilize, they can preserve your basic ability to chew certain foods by replacing some or all of your teeth. As a removable solution, however, a denture or partial comes with the added responsibility of daily maintenance and costly repairs.
- Temporary flipper – This small acrylic tooth is a removable solution that is designed to serve only as a temporary restoration as you explore your permanent tooth replacement options.
- Do nothing – Once a tooth has been extracted, the remaining teeth, gums, and bone structure will begin to undergo a number of changes. These changes can make any form of future tooth replacement more complicated and more costly. This is certainly the least desirable alternative.
If you are facing a tooth extraction, or have already lost a tooth, make plans to speak to our periodontists today about your treatment choices.
