What Should You Do If You Have Lost A Tooth?
If its suddenly happened due to a trauma and you are experiencing pain, an emergency visit would be recommend so we can take a look and advise on the next best step (in case any other teeth are compromised.)
If it’s not sudden, and you have had the gap for quite some time, then book in with the dentist at your earliest convenience to discuss the options available to you.
How Can We Replace Missing Teeth?
There are a few variables to this. The main one is what do you want to achieve. Your needs are the most important to us, so we will take our time to fully understand what is important to you. The second is what is possible for your case (not all treatments are ideal depending on your situation).
The main ways teeth are replaced include:
- Dentures – this the traditional method. They can replace partial sets of teeth to full upper/lower sets of teeth. They can also be anchored in using dental implants (for a more secure option)
- Dental bridges & crowns – this is another traditional method. A bridge as it suggests, bridges a gap in your mouth. So using the adjacent teeth to the gap, the teeth would be crowned which subsequently holds the bridge in place, thus eliminating the gap with a new tooth (pontic) – please note there are different variants of a bridge, so if the gap doesn’t have adjacent teeth to be crowned, other types may be more suitable. Bridges can also be anchored in by dental implants (especially if there are no suitable teeth either side of the gap)
- Dental implants – these are often considered the gold standard in gap management. The implant will act as the new root of the tooth (placed at bone level) and it will then anchor in the restoration on top (crown, bridge, denture etc). They are very versatile and can be used in a number of different scenarios. Read more here
It can be hard to know what the best options are as a patient. That’s why we are here. We will listen to your needs, explore your options, and together we will come up with the best plan going forward. Please do not hesitate to call us or fill out our short form below.