It’s Never too Late to Straighten Your Smile

Replacing Your Missing Or Damaged Teeth: Exploring Your Options

19 March 2015 by Jacqueline Byrd

Whether your teeth were damaged as the result of trauma or decay, the ability to replace your missing and damaged teeth can play a huge role in restoring both beauty and function to your smile. Thankfully, there are two highly effective tooth-replacement options available to help you accomplish this goal. These options are the use of dentures or dental implants. While both of these options will offer some rather impressive benefits, it is important to note that not all patients will be good candidates for both of these options. Along with the benefits they have to offer, dentures and dental implants also come with a few disadvantages that must be considered. Below you will learn more about the good and bad features of each option so that you can choose the one that is right for you.

Dentures

The Good:

• Available Quickly - Thanks to advancements in dental technology, dental labs are now able to fabricate a custom pair of dentures in as little as one day. This can be very beneficial to individuals who are worried about going without a replacement tooth for an extended period of time.
• Easy To Clean - One of the biggest problems that people experience when caring for their natural teeth is that they are unable to easily reach their back teeth with a traditional toothbrush. When choosing to replace your natural teeth with dentures, this will no longer be a problem, since these replacement teeth can easily be removed for cleaning each day.

The Bad:

• Sore Gums - Over time, the pressure that is put on your dentures can result in sore, red gums. In some patients, this pressure will even result in the significant loss of gum tissue.
• Movement - Dentures are not anchored in your mouth by bone as your natural teeth are. Consequently, these dentures will often move throughout the day. This movement can make it difficult to talk clearly and may result in a gagging feeling.

Dental Implants

The Good:

• Natural Appearance - Dental implants are structured to mimic natural teeth all the way down to the "root" of the implant that is placed in the patient's jawbone. Thanks to this structure, dental implants are able to provide a far more natural-looking tooth.
• Superior Strength - Since dental implants get their strength from the jawbone rather than the gums, this tooth replacement option is able to provide superior strength when compared to dentures. This can be especially important to individuals who are worried about not being able to enjoy the foods they love due to diminished tooth strength.

The Bad:

• Long-Term Commitment - Unlike dentures, dental implants cannot be completed in a single day. In fact, the implant process will often take upwards of a year to complete.
• Surgery Required - Surgery is required in order to place the implant into the patient's jawbone. For patients with serious medical issues or limited bone density, this requirement can prove prohibitive.

The Bottom Line

There are dozens of factors that you may need to consider when choosing a tooth replacement option. For instance, how long can you go without a replacement tooth? Do you have medical issues that may prevent you from having surgery? Are you worried about people finding out your teeth are not real? By taking the time to answer these questions, you will be able to determine which of the options above is able to best suit your needs. For more information, speak with experts like First Coast Periodontics, P.A.

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