Can you get away with a missing tooth? Here are some of the consequences you will face in the long run and some treatments you can choose on!

Consequences 

Adjacent teeth next or opposing to the missing tooth will gradually shift towards each other in the attempt to close up the gap. It can cause serious problems that may occur in the future. Some problems include chewing difficulty, bone loss and further dental problems. All these can lead to an extra strain in your jaw that could cause side effects on a daily routine.

Chewing Difficulty 

Missing a tooth can be a result of eating difficulty. This could lead to bad digestive issues as nutrients from the food are not properly absorbed since the chewing is affected due to the misalignment of how you bite. Especially your molars that play the most important role to ensure that the food you consume breaks down in smaller pieces before swallowing.

Bone Loss

Losing a tooth can cause bone loss around the jaw area. This can lead to a saggy appearance around the mouth. The bone tissue that once held the tooth in place is no longer needed thus it weakens and slowly disintegrates into your body system.

While this saggy appearance is more common in older age groups, you would look significantly older gradually.

Treatment Options for Restoration 

Fred not! You have options to choose from and here are some treatments there to save you! These 3 are options to look at for restorations – implant, denture and bridges. 

Implant

This is the common treatment and smart investment patients would turn to depend on the dentist’s advice. It consists of a titanium screw that would be covered by a dental crown in an estimated time frame of 3-5 months from start to finish for the bone to integrate with the implant screw itself, to monitor and review, and at the end, the delivery of the crown to finish it off.

Denture

A removable appliance that is able to be placed in and out of the mouth in the comfort of the patient themselves. The patient needs to have the self-discipline to get used to the feeling of having them in at least most times of the day, as this is a foreign object used as an appliance to replace the missing tooth. 

Start to end of this treatment would roughly take a month as dentures require a few steps in between to make sure that the appliance itself feels comfortable and looks natural as it could be.

Bridges 

This treatment is the fastest out of the 3 options. The dental laboratory needs less than 2 weeks to fabricate this. You will be done after 2 appointment sittings! 

However, in most cases, this treatment needs the adjacent teeth of the missing tooth to be healthy. 

At Pure NZ Dental,  our friendly and highly professional team are passionate about providing you with the dental care that you deserve!

Have a question or a concern? We’re only an email or a call away!

Contact us at +65 96798770 via WhatsApp or call us at +65 64630257, or via email at info@purenzdental.com