Should I Replace My Missing Teeth?
What’s the Best Tooth Replacement for Me?
If you’re missing one or more of your teeth in San Diego, you should have them replaced as soon as possible. Losing teeth can negatively affect your self-esteem and your lifestyle, and also lead to future oral health problems.
Wondering why you should have your missing teeth replaced, and what your options are for restoring your smile? Read on and the team at Harbor Family Dental will discuss everything you need to know.
4 Reasons to Replace Your Missing Teeth
Need a reason to replace the tooth you lost? Here are just a few of the best reasons to invest in your smile and restore your missing teeth.
Prevent teeth shifting – Losing a tooth causes the other nearby teeth to shift toward the area to fill the gap. This can ruin your bite alignment and cause crooked teeth, and even contribute to future oral health issues like TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder).
Eliminate speech impediments – Losing teeth, especially front teeth, makes it harder to pronounce certain sounds, and negatively affects your speech.
Improve your self-esteem issues – If you have one or more missing teeth, you may feel bad about how you look due to the social stigma associated with tooth loss.
Eat your favorite foods – Missing teeth make it harder to chew certain foods. Losing front teeth, for example, makes it harder to eat chewy foods like bagels, while losing rear teeth makes it more difficult to eat meat, fibrous vegetables, and other tough foods.
Replacing your missing teeth can help you avoid all of these problems – restoring your smile, your speech, your ability to eat, and your oral health.
What Are My Options for Replacing My Missing Teeth?
Depending on your situation, there are several different procedures that may be right for you at Harbor Family Dental.
Dentures – Dentures consist of one or more false teeth attached to an acrylic base. Partial dentures replace just a few teeth and clip onto your healthy teeth to stay in place, while full dentures replace all of your missing teeth, and are held onto your gums by friction.
Dental bridges – Dental bridges use two dental crowns to support one or more false teeth, which “bridge” the gap in your smile. They are a good choice if you’ve lost one or more teeth that were next to each other.
Dental implants – Dental implants are small pieces of metal that are surgically implanted into your jaw and gum tissue. They permanently bond with your mouth, and act like artificial tooth roots. A single implant with a dental crown can be used to replace one tooth, or multiple implants can be used to support implant-supported bridges or dentures, replacing multiple teeth.
Contact Harbor Family Dentistry to Replace Your Missing Teeth in San Diego
If you’re ready to explore tooth replacement options like dentures, dental bridges, and dental implants, Dr. Ryan Wallrich is here to help. At Harbor Family Dental, Dr. Wallrich offers a wide range of solutions to replace missing teeth, restore your bite and your smile, and improve your self-confidence. Contact us online or call today at (619) 786-2939 to schedule a consultation right away.