No Belmont resident wants his or her smile permanently changed by a missing tooth. Thankfully, with help from the Dental Restorative Group, Belmont patients who lose a tooth as a result of trauma or oral disease have options to restore their beautiful smiles. Read on as you learn about the two most common procedures available to Belmont patients who lose a tooth – dental bridges and dental implants.
What is a Dental Bridge?
A dental bridge is when you have three of more crowns connected to each other. The two crowns on the end of the dental bridge are called the abutment teeth. These abutment teeth go over either your natural teeth or existing dental implants if you have them. The other crowns, which are called the pontics, “bridge” the gap between where you have a missing tooth or teeth, hence the name of the treatment. The result of a dental bridge is that your missing tooth, or teeth, is hidden by the pontic crowns.
What Else Should I Know About Dental Bridges?
A dental bridge can be an effective way to replace a missing tooth or teeth. However, it does have some drawbacks. First, to place the abutment teeth, your Belmont dentist will have to reshape your adjacent teeth. Second, while dental bridges are strong, they are not as strong as dental implants. And third, dental bridges are difficult to clean and decay or gum disease can develop on supporting teeth. For these reasons, many Belmont patients opt to get dental implants instead.
What Are Dental Implants?
Dental implants can restore your smile and give you your full biting capabilities back. With dental implants, a strong prosthetic root is inserted into your bone to provide anchorage. Then, crown is attached to the dental implant restoring function and esthetic. Dental implants can be used to restore a single missing tooth or multiple missing teeth. In fact, the Belmont dentists at the Dental Restorative Group can install multiple crowns or bridges to dental implants. In certain cases full arch can be restored, only requiring four dental implants.
What Else Should I Know About Dental Implants?
Dental implants typically require the assistance of multiple care providers. But at Belmont’s Dental Restorative Group, we have all of those providers in our dental practice so that you won’t need to travel to different providers to complete your treatment.
Your treatment plan will start with an initial examination by your dentist, who will recommend you to one of our prosthodontists for the implant work. Together, our team will create a personalized treatment plan for you, with the goal of not only restoring your smile but giving you the function you need to continue eating normally.
I’m Ready to Learn More About Dental Implants. What Do I Do?
If you have a missing tooth or teeth and are ready to learn more about dental implants, then call our Belmont offices today for a consultation. During this initial visit, we will perform a full examination and begin creating your customized treatment plan.
Call today at (617) 489-1470.
