At Cosmetic Dentistry Associates, we are here to help our patients restore their smiles after they’ve experienced tooth loss. Missing teeth can have a detrimental impact on your smile, so it’s important to pursue your tooth replacement options as soon as you realize you are missing a tooth.
At our Rockland County, NY dentist office, we offer both dental bridges and dental implants as potential tooth replacement options. Learn more about the difference between these two missing teeth treatment options below:
Dental bridges utilize external hardware to literally bridge the gap in your smile created by your missing teeth. The bridge hardware holds a set of prosthetic teeth in place of the missing teeth.
This treatment option can be used to replace one or more consequtive teeth. Often, patients choost to have their surrounding teeth supported with a dental crown to ensure that they are strong enough to hold the bridge in place.
Some enamel removal is required to make space for the dental bridge, but typically this treatment option can be completed in two visits to our Pomona dentist office. This treatment option does not require a surgical procedure like dental implants do.
However, patients should expect to make certain lifestyle alterations to protect their dental bridge once it is in place. For example, patients with dental bridges should avoid eating excessively chewy or crunchy foods that may potentially damage the bridge hardware.
Dental implants are considered the premier option for tooth replacement. This is because they have a very high patient satisfaction rating. To replace a tooth with a dental implant, you must undergo a surgical procedure. A titanium post is surgically inserted beneath your own soft tissue.
The post takes around 6-11 months to fully heal and fuse together with your jawbone. While this healing time is much longer than what is needed for dental bridges, it is well worth the wait. The post will give you restoration tooth-root functionality.
Topped with a dental crown, the dental implant is the only restorative dentistry option that both cosmetically and functionally fully replaces a missing tooth, giving you the most natural-looking result.
Patients love dental implants because they do not have to worry about the dietary restrictions or oral hygiene hazards associated with dental bridges.
Considering your tooth replacement options? We invite you to visit the amazing team at Cosmetic Dentistry Associates. Our restorative dentists look forward to helping you find the tooth replacement option that is right for you. Schedule an appointment online, and we look forward to seeing you soon.
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