How to Cope Up with Missing Teeth?

Dr. Mir Mujtaba Ali writes in TheMedGuru :

Missing teeth should no longer be a reason for your embarrassment. There are dental treatments that can take care of the problem.

Are missing teeth the cause of your fading smile? Don't lose hope. Though there is no perfect substitute to natural teeth, dental implants can definitely do the trick.

To begin with, here is a brief on the two sets of teeth we have in a lifetime. First is the primary dentition, popularly known as milk teeth. These are gradually replaced by the permanent teeth.

When we lose the primary or milk teeth, permanent teeth erupt to replace them. However, permanent teeth, if lost, have no successor. As a result, many end up with empty space between teeth. But this can be taken care of artificially through dental work.

What Causes Missing Teeth?
One can lose teeth due to various reasons. These include tooth loss due to:

. accident, blow or injury, most common among young people.

. periodontal disease, adversely affecting the tooth-supporting structures

. dental caries, also called tooth decay or cavity, that destroy considerable portion of a tooth, requiring remaining tooth to be removed.

. specific dental condition may also lead to tooth extraction by the dentist

. some have missing teeth naturally.

Why Should I Replace Missing Teeth?
Replacing missing teeth is advisable for dental health. Also, it improves appearance. Otherwise missing teeth can give rise to several problems like:

Chewing People with one or more missing teeth find it difficult to chew food properly.

Crooked Teeth Untreated tooth loss results in misaligned teeth as the surrounding ones compensate by moving to fill the space caused by missing teeth.

Speech It also affects speech. One might find difficulty to pronounce specific words and/or sounds.

Damage to Existing Teeth A natural balance of force exists in a dentition. When teeth are missing, this balance is upset causing undue stress on surrounding resulting in damage.

Aesthetics Most of us are obsessed about how we look and missing teeth can be a cause of embarrassment.

How Can I Replace Missing Teeth?

There are three main treatment options to replace missing teeth.

1. Removable Partial Denture
It replaces missing teeth with artificial teeth embedded in a base and supported by clasps placed on the immediate surrounding teeth.

As, the name suggests, they can removed and replaced back when desired. Removable partial dentures are preferred when more than three teeth are missing.

Note: When entire teeth in a jaw are missing, which is often the case with older patients, a denture known as complete denture is used.

2. Fixed Partial Denture (Dental Bridge)
It is often used in cases of one or two missing teeth. The prime motive of using FPD is to achieve aesthetics or a look which resembles natural teeth.

They are fixed by taking support from adjacent two teeth using caps on them with the artificial tooth in the middle.

3. Dental Implant
Dental implants are a recent advance in dentistry. It involves drilling a hole in the jaw, imparting a titanium screw to which a false tooth is attached.

The main advantage of dental implants is that it looks and feels more natural than any other dental work. The dental implant cost could come in the way.