Missing teeth? Best dentist in Charleston SC offers bridges to prevent destructive effects of bone loss

Missing teeth can dramatically affect the appearance of your smile. It may be hard to hide a gap where a tooth used to be. Gaps can accelerate the natural shifting of existing teeth. You may notice formerly straight are tipped and appear crowded, so though a missing back tooth may be “out of sight,” it can affect the appearance of highly visible front teeth.

Cosmetic considerations don’t take into account functional complications that arise from shifting and a significant threat to your health and quality of life: bone loss. To shifting, as teeth become crowded, you may be unable to brush or floss well. Poor oral hygiene can result in gum disease or tooth decay and eventually more tooth loss.

When you lose your teeth, you also lose bone. The effects of tooth loss happen rapidly. Within the first year of tooth loss, bone width decreases by 25 percent. Bone loss changes your face shape and causes tissues to sag as your skin is not properly supported, effects which can make you appear older than your years.

Since the appearance and health of your teeth and mouth go hand-in-hand, as the look of your teeth and smile deteriorates so goes function. The longer you live with missing teeth, the more potential complications arise with tooth replacement options such as dental implants. If bone loss is such that existing hard tissues would not provide a foundation sufficient enough for the implant-supported tooth, bone may be grafted to build up the jaw and increase the odds of the implant being successful.

Bridges are a tooth replacement option that can work for many patients. Unlike the dental implant-supported tooth, a bridge is not surgically placed in the jaw so there is no need to build up the structure that may have been lost as the result of bone resorption. While the type of bridge can vary depending on how much (if any) teeth exist on either side of the tooth designed to fill your gap, generally the bridge consists of 3 units:

• The new tooth or pontic
• The tooth to the right of the pontic
• The tooth to the left of the pontic

The adjacent or abutment teeth are generally crowned. Crowning is advised as these teeth support the pontic. A crown adds strength, kind of like the supportive beams that hold up a bridge you drive over.

Dr. Andrew Greenberg combines his clinical knowledge and training with a background in and passion for the visual arts to design a bridge that is as beautiful and natural looking as it is brawny and built to last. For the Best Dentist in Charleston SC to meet your tooth replacement needs, call (843)751 4262 to schedule an appointment at Mouth Carolina Dentistry, PA. Don’t wait another day to prevent continued damage from tooth and bone loss.