Leaving gaps between your natural teeth can affect your speech and your ability to eat and chew properly. Gaps between teeth can also make your smile look less attractive, which can affect your self confidence. In some cases it can also affect the other teeth as they start to shift positions over time.
Replacing any missing teeth improves your smile, can make you look younger and more attractive and can also improve the variety of food you can eat. This can lead to an overall improvement in your health as you are able to have a more balanced diet.
There are always 4 options for a missing tooth.
- It can be left as gap
- It can be replaced with a denture
- It can be replaced with a bridge
- It can be replaced with an implant
A denture is a removable appliance made usually of metal or acrylic that clips into place to replace the aesthetic and function of the missing teeth.
A bridge is a fixed prosthesis that is cemented to one or more of the missing tooths neighbouring teeth. In some cases it may be necessary to prepare (remove some tooth structure) from these teeth in order for the bridge to be fitted.
An implant is a fixed prosthesis and a direct replacement for a tooth and will be placed in to the bone in the areas that are missing teeth. They will not interfere with the neighbouring teeth.