Man in glasses smiling over laptop

When you lose one of your teeth, the experience can be quite upsetting. You can feel embarrassment at the new gap in your smile and begin to notice problems with your bite. To prevent this hole in your smile from affecting your ability to enjoy everyday life, you should learn about the options available to replace a missing tooth. Modern prosthetics can potentially help prevent additional dental loss and return the full appearance of your smile.

At your Newport Beach, CA, dental practice, we help empower our patients with reliable restorations for missing teeth. Appliances such as dental implants and dental bridges return your bite without calling attention to your previous injury.

When Losing A Tooth Harms Your Smile

Losing a tooth can impact your oral health in addition to creating a serious cosmetic issue. Because each one of your teeth works together with one another to create your full bite, a single loss creates misalignment. As certain teeth now take a disproportionate amount of force, their enamel can begin to erode. This creates the possibility of decay and gum disease as you lose the protective layer that holds oral bacteria at bay.  You could develop pain and disorders of the jaw as you shift the bottom half of your face awkwardly to account for the missing gap in your bite. By seeking treatment from your dentist early after losing a tooth, you can prevent many of these problems from occurring or stop their advancement with a proper restoration.

Creating A Dental Bridge

We can place a dental bridge between neighboring teeth to return your bite and return a full row. By securing the prosthetic to crowns we attach, your new bridge prevents further misalignment by stopping dental drift into the open socket. This can be a wonderful option for replacing multiple consecutive missing teeth.

Placing A Dental Implant

Candidates for dental implants can restore their smile while receiving the added benefit of supporting jawbone health. This is because when you lose a tooth, you lose the root that transfers the force of your bite and signals the nervous system that the bone is in use. The body normally responds by sending nutrients for continued bone maintenance, but when the signal is lost, your body redirects material elsewhere and the bone loses density. By inserting an implant post, we can attach a dental crown above your gumline which works together to stimulate the bone.

Speak With Your Newport Beach, CA Dentist About Replacing Your Missing Tooth

Losing a tooth no longer means having a permanent gap in your grin! Modern restorations can provide desirable health and esthetic benefits in a few visits to your local dentist. To find out more about treating your loss with a  lifelike prosthetic and to start your journey to a complete smile, contact your Newport Beach, CA dentist’s office at (949) 630-0143 to discuss care today.