Losing your natural teeth could be a source of discomfort and even lead to issues with speech, bite function, and more. When you have lost one tooth, or all of them, we can help with implant dentistry. In today’s blog, your Santa Rosa, CA, oral surgeons talk about replacing missing teeth with our Straumann® dental implants!
The Causes of Tooth Loss
Why do we lose natural teeth? As we get older, the risk of tooth loss increases. For some, missing teeth could be due to factors like advanced tooth decay or infection. Injury could also be a factor. The most common cause of adult tooth loss is actually periodontitis, the advanced stage of gum disease. As part of your treatments, our team will carefully examine your smile to understand the cause and extent of your tooth loss. We may need to treat underlying issues like periodontitis before we move forward with dental implant placement.
The Dangers for Your Smile
What happens to our smiles when we lose our teeth? The gaps left behind could limit meal options and nutritional intake, and could even complicate how clearly we speak. Missing teeth could lead to misalignment as surrounding teeth drift from position. The pressure on your jaw joints could also lead you vulnerable to issues like TMJ disorder and bruxism (teeth grinding). But that’s not the worst complication! The body will stop sending doses of calcium and phosphorus to the jaw around the missing roots. Without these nutrients, the surrounding bone structure loses mass and density, which can lead to further tooth loss and an older appearance. But we can help you avoid these complications with dental implant placement.
Examining Your Smile
Dental implants are biocompatible titanium posts that we insert into the jawbone surgically. They look similar to small screws and are accepted by the body as natural root structures. This means the growth of jawbone structure is stimulated, so you avoid negative changes to your jaw ridge and don’t lose mass and density. This means your facial structure remains intact and your new teeth can last for decades to come! With digital x-rays and CBCT imaging, our team can choose the best angle, position, and depth to insert these posts, so they support your new smile and keep your smile strong and intact.
Grafting and Sinus Lifts
In some cases, your jaw may have lost enough structure due to tooth loss that it simply cannot support dental implant posts. If this is the case, then our team can conduct procedures to strengthen the jaw and ensure it can support one or more dental implants. With jawbone grafting, our team will add new structure to the lower jaw, either taken from the rear of your jaw, your hip, or your knee, or from donor or synthetic sources. This will strengthen your lower jaw and once your new teeth are in place, your smile stays strong and functional. For the upper jaw, we could raise the sinus floor to uncover new structures that can support one or more dental implants.
Dental Implants
When your smile is ready for placement, we will use digital surgical guides to oversee the insertion of one or more of your dental implant posts. For an individual one, our team will connect an abutment to the post that extends above the gum line. Our team can then attach a crown to couplet the new tooth. The crown will be custom-made to ensure it looks natural and can handle daily bite forces and pressures, while also providing a balanced bite. But we can also use several posts to support a bridge or even a set of dentures.
Implant Bridges and Fixed Dentures
If you have a gap of two to four missing teeth, then we could use two posts to support a dental bridge, so you have a free-standing prosthetic that stays in place and keeps your jaw intact. If you have near total or total tooth loss, then we could extract the last few teeth and insert four posts per arch, and in the same visit, we could attach a new set of teeth so you leave with a complete smile. If you have any questions, then contact our team today.
Talk to Our Team About Tooth Replacement in Santa Rosa, CA
Our team wants to offer a complete smile again with our custom dental implants. To learn more about how we replace missing teeth, then give us a call at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery at (707)545-4625 today!
