In our last blog, we discussed how we can secure a set of dental bridges with one to two dental implants. But what if you have a more complicated case of tooth loss, with multiple gaps in your smile. In today’s blog, your Santa Rosa, CA, oral surgeons discuss how we can provide a durable set of partial dentures.
The Dangers of Missing Teeth
When you have tooth loss too severe for a bridge, but not severe enough for a full denture, this often means gaps spread out across the arch. Without treatment, this could cause the remaining teeth to drift and lead to severe misalignment, a complication linked to tooth decay and gum disease. As we mentioned in the previous blog, this could upset the bite balance and make the onset of TMJ disorder and bruxism (teeth grinding) more likely. Finally, you could lose jaw joint mass and density due to the body suspending the flow of calcium and phosphates to the jaw around your missing roots. To avoid a prematurely aged appearance and impacts on your ability to eat and speak, you need a dental prosthetic.
Creating the Prosthetic Portion
The denture portion is what people see when you smile, and what restores your ability to eat your favorite foods again and smile with confidence. To create this, we will take detailed digital images of your smile from multiple angles, and use them in a lab setting to design and fabricate the partial denture. The partial will contain an acrylic base that looks like gum tissue, and replacement teeth made from ceramic. These will be designed to fit gently in between the gaps of your smile. Ceramic can be color-matched to blend with your smile seamlessly, and the material can absorb daily bite forces with ease. While traditional partials were helped in place with clasps attaching to natural teeth, yours will be connected to dental implants.
Dental Implants
Multiple dental implant posts will be inserted into specific angles and positions of your jaw, and will be able to bond with the jawbone like natural roots. We then attach abutments to them so we can connect the completed denture. For some patients, this can be done in one visit! If you have any questions about how we plan and secure a set of partial dentures with dental implants, then contact our team today.
Do You Have Questions About Restoring Your Smile?
Our team is here to help you end 2022 on the road to a full and stunning smile. To learn more about our solutions for major cases of tooth loss, then schedule a consultation by calling Santa Rosa Oral Surgery in Santa Rosa, CA, today at 707-545-4625.