What Are My Options for Tooth Replacement?

A missing tooth can certainly change the appearance of your smile, but it can also negatively impact your oral health. Missing teeth can affect your ability to speak clearly or chew comfortably, impact the integrity of your jawbone, and cause your teeth to slowly shift into some of the empty spaces. Thankfully, there are a number of excellent options available to replace your missing tooth (or teeth) at Lone Star Dental Care in Frisco and Plano, Texas.

Below, Dr. Afshin Vahadi and Dr. Vafa Mirshams highlight three tooth-replacement options.

1. Dental bridges

A dental bridge quite literally “bridges” the gap in your teeth with a false tooth. The false tooth (called a pontic) is supported by the adjacent teeth on both sides. The two adjacent teeth (also called the abutment teeth) are prepped with dental crowns, which support the pontic. Your pontic is made from porcelain or zirconia, both of which yield lifelike results. 

Dental bridges can restore your smile and your ability to chew and speak easily. They are ideal if you’re missing one tooth and don’t want (or can’t have) implant surgery.

2. Dentures

Dentures are one of the most well-known solutions for replacing your teeth. While most people think of complete dentures as the only type, the reality is that there are different kinds of dentures. Here at Lone Star Dental Care, we offer the following types of dentures: 

Complete dentures

Complete dentures replace full arches of teeth, either all of your lower teeth, all of your upper teeth, or both. Complete dentures are recommended if you’ve lost all of your teeth. 

Partial dentures

If you’ve lost several teeth (too many for a bridge to work) but still have several, you may opt for partial dentures. As the name suggests, partial dentures are a prosthetic option designed to replace only some of your teeth. Each appliance is custom-designed to fit around your remaining teeth.  

Hybrid dentures

Hybrid dentures — also called screw-in dentures — are a fusion between implants and dentures. They replace missing teeth by relying on dental implant posts to support your dentures. The implant posts can support either partial or full dentures. Hybrid dentures combine the strength and durability of implants with the maximum coverage of dentures.

3. Dental implants

Dental implants create a strong, sturdy replacement thanks to the biocompatible titanium posts that are surgically implanted into your jawbone. The posts serve as prosthetic tooth roots and firmly anchor your dental crown, partial, or complete denture. 

Dental implants do what dentures or bridges can’t do alone: They stimulate your jaw bone and prevent jaw bone atrophy. Jaw bone atrophy can sometimes occur once your natural tooth is removed. Your tooth roots naturally stimulate your jaw bone, and without that, your jaw bone integrity can suffer. However, dental implants promote healthy jaw bone. 

Which option is right for you?

Tooth replacement options aren’t one-size-fits-all. Not every treatment is right for everyone. For example, candidates for dental implants need to have a sufficient amount of quality jaw bone to support an implant. You might need a bone graft prior to your implant surgery, or you might opt for dentures instead.

Here at Lone Star Dental Care, you’re never on this journey alone. Taking your personal health history and dental goals into account, Dr. Vahadi and Dr. Mirshams explore all of your options during your consultation. 

Whether you’re missing one tooth or many, we’re ready to help restore the form and function of your smile. Call one of our offices to make an appointment. You may also request an appointment online.