Restore Your Missing Teeth and Your Smile in Kansas City
If you’re missing teeth, simple daily tasks can become a challenge. If you’re looking for a solution, we can help you restore your missing teeth and your smile. While keeping your natural teeth is always the number one option, sometimes replacement options are needed to restore and maintain a healthy smile. We can help you decide which of our tooth replacement options, implants, dentures, or implant-supported dentures, is best for you and your smile goals.
It’s so important to our daily lives that we can smile, eat, and talk with confidence. At the offices of Thomas L. Anderson, DDS and Associates, we want to make sure our patients always have strong and healthy smiles.
Why Should You Restore Your Missing Teeth?
When one of our patients comes in with a missing tooth, they typically have questions. So, we thought we’d try to answer some of the most frequently asked questions related to missing tooth restoration below.
Q. Why should I replace my missing teeth?
A. Our patients always realize that a missing tooth affects their appearance; however, that’s not the only reason we should discuss options to restore your missing tooth.
Here are 3 main reasons:
- Your appearance.
- The gap left by a missing tooth can mean more strain is put on the teeth at either side.
- A gap can also mean your ‘bite’ is affected, because the teeth next to the space can lean into the gap and change the way the upper and lower teeth bite together. This can lead to food getting packed into the gap, which causes tooth decay and gum disease.
Q. What happens if I don’t replace my missing tooth quickly?
A. When a tooth is lost, the bone that used to support it disappears quickly. This leads to:
- aging of facial features
- shifting teeth
- periodontal disease
- unnatural gums around a future tooth replacement
- lack of bone support for future tooth replacement
- tooth trauma
- Learn More: Don’t Hide Your Smile Because of a Missing Tooth
Q. How are missing teeth replaced?
A. This depends on the number of teeth missing and where they are in your mouth. The condition of the remaining teeth also affects the decision.
There are three main ways to replace missing teeth: dental implant, bridge or dentures:
- Dental Implant: an artificial root is placed into the bone of the jaw and a crown or bridge is placed on top.
- Partial or Full Denture: removable false tooth (or teeth).
- Implant-Supported Dentures: An implant-supported denture is an oral appliance that replaces several teeth at once. It’s similar to a traditional denture. But instead of resting on top of your gums, an implant-supported denture attaches directly to your jawbone using dental implants.
Let’s explain dental implant, dentures, and implant-supported dentures in a little more depth …
Restore Your Missing Teeth with Dental Implants
Dental implants act like artificial roots that can be permanently placed in the patient’s jawbone. As the gum tissue and bone grow around the dental implant, they become permanent anchors. A natural-looking porcelain crown will be made giving our patients a beautifully finished result that is attractive, yet helps to improve chewing, maintain bone, and prevent teeth from changing positions. Dental implants can even prevent future problems with a patient’s bite.
Dental implants offer a permanent replacement for missing teeth and an effective solution that will look and feel as natural as your original teeth.
Dental Implant Process:
Dental implants can fix multiple teeth, a single tooth, or a full set of teeth – there are many options, making dental implants a popular solution for tooth replacement. Implants require three major steps to consider and can take a series of visits to our office to fully complete the process:
- Surgical implant placement
- Healing from the surgical placement of the implant(s)/temporary teeth placement
- Replacement of any missing teeth with crowns
While the process may sound extensive, the benefits of dental implants are many.
Related Article: Replace a Missing Tooth with a Dental Implant in Kansas City
Dental Implant Benefits:
- Look and act like natural teeth
- Durable, long-lasting
- Feel strong and stable
- Help preserve bone tissue and bone
- Allow you to brush and floss normally
Learn More about Dental Implants HERE.
Restore Your Missing Teeth with Dentures
We fit dentures to replace all or some of the teeth in the upper and/or lower jaw. Dentures improve your confidence when you smile, as well as the clarity of your speech and your ability to chew. Modern dentures provide a firm hold and natural appearance to ensure maximum comfort and function.
- Partial Denture: This is a plate with one or more false teeth on it. It may be all plastic or a mixture of metal and plastic. Both types may have clips (clasps) to help keep the denture in place in your mouth. Depending on where they are, some of these clips may show when you smile or open your mouth.
- Full Denture: Full dentures are a set of custom-made removable replacements for missing teeth. Usually, they require all the teeth in the upper and/or lower half of the mouth to be removed; after removal, the gums must heal over before the dentures can be fitted.
“REMOVABLE” is the Main Difference
Unlike dental implants and implant-supported dentures, traditional partial or full dentures are removable (not permanently implanted into your mouth). We have a lot of patients who choose Dentures because they can be a quick, non-invasive, and more affordable solution to missing teeth.
If you’re experiencing tooth loss from gum disease, injury, or tooth decay, dentures can help your appearance and smile and restore your ability to speak and eat.
Learn More about Dentures HERE.
Restore Your Missing Teeth with Implant-Supported Dentures
While implant-supported dentures are like traditional dentures, the difference lies in the use of implants for retention instead of adhesive. The implant can reduce the bulkiness of traditional dentures and give more space for the tongue.
This means that the ability to taste food with implant-supported dentures will be greatly enhanced. They’re also sturdier and there’s no need for any adhesive at any time because the dentures are so well supported by the implants. This helps preserve bone, tissue, and muscle tone in the face as well to maintain a more youthful appearance.
Learn More about Implant Supported Dentures HERE.
Related Articles:
- Restore Your Missing Tooth: Dental Implant, Bridge, Or Dentures
- Tooth Replacement Options: Implants, Dentures, Implant-Supported Dentures
We Can Restore Your Smile and Your Confidence
If you’re not sure which tooth replacement option is best to restore your missing teeth and your smile: dental implants, dentures, or implant-supported dentures, schedule your Smile Consultation appointment with Dr. Anderson and his expert team in the Kansas City area. There is not a one size fits all treatment plan when it comes to tooth replacement, after a thorough exam and a discussion about your smile goals, we will create a customized treatment plan for your individual needs to restore your smile and your confidence.
Contact us today to schedule your dental appointment and meet with our skilled dentists at one of our three conveniently located dental office locations within the Kansas City area, including Lee’s Summit / Independence, the Country Club Plaza and Downtown Kansas City. The gentle dentists and expert team at Thomas L. Anderson and Associates look forward to working with you to treat your dental emergency, achieve proper oral health and a beautiful smile that will last a lifetime. If you have any questions about your dental insurance benefits, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are happy to review your policy! Please give us a call today to schedule an appointment and become part of our dental family.