Don’t Put Up With Missing Teeth – Cygnet Dental Practice Can Help

Our treatment options in Wickford to address gaps in your teeth.

With improved education about oral health care and a wider range of treatments to restore any damage done to a tooth, losing a tooth, or number of teeth, is no longer inevitable for most of our life at least. Unfortunately though, not everyone looks after their teeth as they should, and none of us can foresee an accident that might knock out a tooth and cause a gap to appear.

When this happens, there is a choice to be made. Where the missing tooth is at the front of the mouth, and therefore very visible, most people will want to replace it, simply because it is so visible. Where a tooth towards the rear of the mouth is lost, more people will decide that they can do without it. While this decision is quite common; as we will see, it isn’t a very good idea.

Tooth loss problems

So why should our Wickford patients choose to replace a missing tooth if they do lose one? Let us take a look at some of the key reasons to choose a tooth replacement rather than ignore it.

Visibility

This is the obvious one. If you lose a front tooth, you will have a gappy smile and even if people don’t comment on it, you can bet that they have seen it and possibly talk about it with others. Even if you are no longer young and focussed on your appearance as much, a missing tooth in this area can really age you. Rear teeth might be less of an issue from this perspective, but gaps in the teeth can often still be seen when you laugh or yawn.

Shifting teeth

In a set of even healthy teeth, each tooth has a role to play and one of these is to keep other teeth in their correct position. If a tooth is lost, this creates a gap which the adjacent teeth can start to move into. This leads to these teeth becoming crooked. As those teeth move, they also create spaces for their adjacent teeth. Over time, several teeth can start to move and leave you with a crooked smile.

Bite and chewing problems

You might think that if you lose a single tooth, it won’t be an issue, but you might be surprised how often you used that tooth to bite or chew your food. You can’t chew with a gap so, inevitably, you subconsciously shift chewing pressure elsewhere in the mouth. Over time, this can lead to other teeth becoming worn, or even breaking under the strain.

Facial shape

As we lose a tooth, it isn’t the only thing that is lost. A healthy tooth is held in place through the roots being secured by the jawbone. When you lose a tooth, that area of the jawbone no longer has a role to play and the body will reuse the minerals elsewhere in the body. This means that the bone thins and reduces. This can make small changes to the shape of your face, and especially where a number of teeth have been lost, can create an ageing appearance.

Speech issues

Not all tooth loss will cause this, but some patients of our Wickford dental surgery might find that certain sounds are harder to create when they lose teeth. This can be embarrassing and socially awkward. Replacing the teeth with an alternative will usually correct this.

Given the reasons above, it makes sense to replace any teeth that you lose and we will take a look at those options now.

Dentures

Dentures have long been the natural choice to replace a missing tooth. They have improved greatly in appearance and comfort over the years and offer a reasonable aesthetic choice. They are also relatively inexpensive and usually require no invasive treatment and are therefore ideal for nervous dental patients. There are downsides though. Cleaning is quite fiddly and involves removing them from the mouth to clean; a common cause of damage through dropping. For most people though the major issue is that they can move around in the mouth a little and make eating and speaking more difficult, especially during social events.

Bridges

A bridge is more secure than dentures as it is typically attached to the teeth either side of the gap by using a crown. The problem with this though is that these teeth will need to be prepared and shaped so the crown can be fitted. Many patients are reluctant to have this done to teeth that are healthy.

Dental implants

Widely considered to be the ‘gold standard’ of tooth replacement methods, implants provide an excellent option as they not only replace the crown, but the tooth roots also. This means that once the treatment process is complete, the replacement tooth will not move or restrict what you can eat. They are the nearest thing to a natural tooth that is currently available. They are a more expensive option though but we have repayment plans to help you to spread any cost over a period of time.

In short then, you should always replace a missing tooth. There are different ways to do this and if you are in this situation, the best option is to consult one of the dentists at the Cygnet Dental Practice to discuss the best way forward. You can do this by calling us for an appointment on 01268 733078 and our local team will be delighted to help.