Tooth Replacement
Tooth replacement is important, and not just for aesthetic reasons. It improves overall bite support, and reduces pressure on other teeth.
There are a number of ways that teeth can be replaced. Typically dental implants are the most common these days, but there are also other solutions that may be more suitable.
Dental Bridges
A Dental bridge is a false tooth attached to the natural tooth next to the space. There are many bridge designs. Some of them only connect to a single tooth on one side of the space, but in general, if both teeth are used, then the bridge will be more sturdy.
This also means that bridges are generally not ideal if you are missing back teeth, and there is no tooth behind the ones you are looking to replace. The aesthetics of dental bridges can be very good, and it’s difficult to tell them from natural teeth. Bridges can be used with dental implants as well, connecting two dental implants, but traditionally they were done connecting two teeth. You may now be thinking, can I connect a tooth and an implant with a bridge? Although this is possible, we would never suggest this, there is a different amount of micromovement between an implant and a natural tooth, so over time this will cause stress in the implant connections, causing breakages and microleaks where bacteria can enter easily. We often use dental bridges on teeth as temporary solutions while we are waiting for dental implants to heal, however, this is discussed on a case by case basis, if temporary bridges are needed in your case. If you would like to find out more about dental implants, then please read our page on dental implants.
Dental Implants
Dental implants can be used in a variety of ways to replace anything from a single tooth to a full set of teeth. In essence, a dental implant is a false “root” of a tooth. Think of it like an anchor, that we can fix different attachments to. With one attachment, you can have a single tooth, and with a different attachment, it is possible to connect four or six dental implants to completely rebuild the full smile.
We are key opinion leaders for certain dental implants, and people travel from around the country to see Dr Sehmi to have dental implants. You can see some of the people we have helped with dental implant treatment, on Dr Sehmi’s Instagram account. The downside of dental implant treatment is the initial expense, and the surgery. The minor surgery is often not as bad as our patients think it will be, and if you are very anxious we can arrange sedation for this appointment. To find out more about dental implants, please read our dental implants page, or you can see lots of videos on Dr Sehmis YouTube page.
Removable Dentures
Removable dentures are the most cost-effective way to replace many missing teeth at once. They generally work best if you have missing teeth on both the left and right sides. This is because missing teeth, just on one side will cause uneven stress on the denture, causing it to move around when you are eating.
Dentures have a bad reputation, but this is based on the most basic versions and we think it's pretty unfair! High-quality dentures not only look very natural, but they are lightweight and inobtrusive in your mouth. The design we use clicks into place easily, using your existing teeth as an anchor. If you do not have any teeth, you can still have dentures: these are called complete dentures. The difficulty with complete dentures is that they rely only on suction to hold position. For the top denture, this means covering the roof of your mouth, which some people do not like. The situation in the lower jaw is even more tricky, as there is less surface area to hold the denture in position. This is where we can use a version of dental implants to hold the denture in place. It can be done with as few as two implants, though by adding more you increase the stability of the denture. Mini implants are perfect for something like this. They are cost-effective, quite simple to place, and will totally transform your experience with dentures.
