When you put off restorative dental work to replace missing teeth, you leave yourself vulnerable to more than just problems with your appearance. Just one lost tooth is all it can take to experience trouble with your bite, an issue that can worsen over time as you put stress on your jaw joints and muscles. Your gap in your smile also makes you vulnerable to losing more teeth, and may even affect the way you speak. Our Maple Grove, MN dentist’s office is prepared to give you back your complete smile by planning and providing prosthetic dental work. When that work includes the placement of a dental implant (or implants) to keep a restoration in place, treatment can even protect you against jawbone resorption.
Tooth Loss Can Negatively Affect Your Quality Of Life
There are several issues that arise and affect people who have lost teeth. You may have trouble with biting and chewing certain foods, a problem that becomes more significant when you have more teeth missing. The changes in your bite function that this causes can increase your risk for TMJ problems that cause teeth grinding, jaw stiffness, and chronic pain in your face, jaw, and head. Tooth loss can actually lead to more losses over time because the teeth next to a gap have less support.
Closing A Gap In Your Smile With A Dental Bridge
One option available to you for permanently replacing a lost tooth is to have a dental bridge put in position. With a dental bridge in place, you can count on better bite support and feel more comfortable with the way you look. This is a permanent appliance that can be placed without the need for oral surgery, as your prosthetic will stay in place thanks to a pair of dental crowns at either side of your restoration.
How Dental Implants Fit Into Plans To Fully Restore Your Smile
Dental implants address more than just the superficial concerns of tooth loss. While a lifelike prosthetic held by an implant can improve the way you look, the functional support and protection for your jawbone are also important. Implants are set directly into your jawbone, which allows them to stimulate the surrounding bone tissue whenever you bite and chew. This will stop the bone from losing mass. Implants also help to keep neighboring teeth from shifting, as they create more support for the roots of teeth.
Discuss Prosthetic Dental Work With Your Maple Grove, MN Dentist
Through prosthetic dental treatment, a person who has experienced tooth loss can regain confidence in their smile while also enjoying important oral health benefits. To find out how your smile can be made complete again, and what treatment can do for your dental function, call Elm Creek Dental in Maple Grove, MN, at 763-416-0606.