Did your mom, dad, grandma, or grandpa ever use that phrase? It’s a very true phrase, especially when it comes to taking care of your teeth. What it means is that if you take some precautions now to prevent a crisis, it will save you so much angst in the future. In other words, by putting in a little effort beforehand, you can possibly prevent a crisis from happening. When it comes to your teeth, by taking care of them on a daily basis, you may be able to prevent several different issues from happening from decay, to infection, to gingivitis, periodontitis, and eventual tooth loss.
What To Do?
Once you lose a tooth, you need to make some very important decisions. Do you replace the tooth or ignore the situation? If you decide to replace the tooth, what type of dental prosthesis will you choose? Will you replace it with a bridge, or an implant? Dental bridges are considered minimally invasive because they require the removal of healthy tooth structure from the two teeth adjacent to the gap left by your missing teeth. Those two teeth act as the anchor teeth and stabilize your dental bridge. This is because a dental bridge consists of the missing tooth or teeth (pontics) and a crown on each end. Those crowns are permanently bonded to the adjacent teeth.
Implants
If you were to choose a dental implant rather than a bridge, you would need to undergo a surgical procedure. An implant post is surgically placed into your jawbone which requires cutting into your gum, and drilling into the bone beneath the gum. Once the implant post is placed it will take a few months to heal. The titanium implant post will permanently fuse with your jawbone so the post will be as stable as the root of a tooth. Onto the implant post a dental crown is placed, and you have a permanent, long-lasting tooth replacement that looks and functions just like your original tooth.
Wondering What You Will Do Now That You Lost A Tooth?
If you’re wondering what you are going to do because you need a tooth extracted, or you have already lost a tooth, call Dr. Huffstutler your Forth Worth, TX, Dentist, today at 817-918-3038 to schedule an appointment. We proudly serve North Richland Hills, Denton, the Mid-cities, Southlake, and all surrounding communities.