When it comes to your smile, it’s okay to be biased. If your smile isn’t perfect, wanting it to be is a natural desire. When it comes to losing teeth, few people would consider the loss a trivial matter. Those that take a laissez-faire attitude about tooth loss often don’t realize the consequences of ignoring it.
If you let tooth loss run its course, it won’t stop at the teeth that are already gone. The destruction of your jawbone and the disarray of your remaining teeth can grow worse until you replace the missing ones.
You Can Avoid Dentures, But Only for So Long
The best way to avoid dentures is to retain all of your natural teeth so that they don’t need replacement. If you’ve already lost one or more teeth, then avoiding dentures is a bit trickier.
A dental bridge might replace the tooth, or several consecutive teeth, that you’ve lost, but without your missing teeth’s roots, your jawbone can slowly shrink from a lack of stimulation (like atrophy). Over time, you may lose more teeth if your jawbone grows too weak to hold on to them.
The Complete Package
Dentures, or at least the concept of them, have been around for centuries, and likely even longer. Today, however, dentures are designed in a variety of shapes and sizes. For instance, partial dentures can fit around existing teeth to restore your smile, and complete dentures consist of an entire row of replacement teeth.
One of the most significant advancements in prosthetic dentistry is the dental implant, which can be surgically inserted into the jawbone to support conventional replacement teeth. Combined with a dental crown or partial denture, implants can help you prevent the need for dentures by preserving your remaining teeth and jawbone’s integrity when stimulated by biting.
ABOUT YOUR SANTA ROSA, CA, ORAL SURGEONS:
Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).
