Are you missing a tooth or several teeth, but think there are no affordable tooth replacement options? Do you want your beautiful smile back and you want to be able to eat all your favorite foods, but you worry about your budget? With today’s dental advances, there are now options available to you, and Dr. Matthew Wimmer at Wimmer Dental Care in Centennial can explain what might work best for you.
A lot of adults are missing teeth but don’t know about the many choices we offer for realistic looking replacements. There are several options. The most popular choice is dental implants but to make it easier on your budget, you can replace your missing teeth with dental bridges, dentures, or sometimes a combination of bridges or dentures with implants.
Dental Implants
Dental implants act just like your real teeth. They are strong because they are anchored to your jaw bone. The great thing about dental implants is they actually strengthen the surrounding teeth as well.
Bone loss can be a problem if you don’t replace a missing tooth. It’s called bone resorption. Osteoclasts break down the bone tissue which releases the mineral and transfers the calcium from the bone to the blood. When a tooth is missing, this happens because the tooth’s natural roots are no longer in the jawbone. This leaves a space and after a while it can cause the jawbone to deteriorate.
Interestingly enough, not only does a missing tooth impact the area surrounding the missing tooth, it also impacts the healthy teeth around it and you can lose the other teeth from decay. It also increases the chance that gum disease will develop in the missing tooth area.
Our dentist, Dr. Matthew Wimmer, is thoroughly trained and experienced in all aspects of dental implants. In fact, he has also completed a one-year training program in Implant Dentistry and is a fellow of the California Implant Institute and holds fellowship status in the International Congress of Oral Implantologists.
Dental implant procedures take place in our office, so there is no need to be referred to another doctor’s office. Our office also offers computer guided dental implant surgery. This allows all aspects of your implant surgery to be planned using a 3D model of your jaw with a special computer program. The computer program generates a surgical guide that allows Dr. Wimmer to place your new dental implants exactly where they should go.
There are many benefits to dental implants, including they avoid shaving other teeth down as needed for a bridge, implants have a higher long-term success rate than conventional crowns and bridges, they can stop the denture from moving around or falling out while eating, and implants can even allow the removal of the part of your upper denture that covers the roof of your mouth in some cases.
In addition, dental implants can help you preserve your jawbone because the titanium posts used for the implants will actually fuse with the jawbone after a while. This helps to continue stimulating growth and reduces the potential for bone loss. Dental implants are strong and last a long time but they are also more expensive than the other options.
You should consider the options of a small dental bridge or full or partial dentures to help replace missing teeth.
Bridge or Partial Denture Over Implants
A bridge or partial denture over implants may be an answer if you have two or more teeth missing that are next to each other. One or two implants can help anchor the bridge or partial denture. This way you don’t have to use healthy teeth to support the bridge and your removable partial denture won’t need clasps because it can attach right to the dental implant.
Overdentures or Full Dentures Over Implants
Overdentures or full dentures over implants may also be an option for you to consider. This plan uses both implants and dentures. A full denture arch is attached to 4 or 6 dental implants. The implants are usually placed two or more at a time. So, if you want to get the implants all at once and still wear the full denture while your mouth heals, this could be the answer.
When all of the implants are in place, the dentures will attach to the implants with a special abutment. This allows the dentures to look and fit a lot more naturally. If you want, you can even remove the dentures at night so you can clean and maintain them. But when they are in, they are very secure and won’t fall out. You won’t have a need for that sticky denture cream that holds your dentures in place and you won’t worry about them falling out when you eat.
These procedures use several options together which allows you to combine the long-term benefits of dental implants, including strength, durability, long-lasting, and a natural fit, with bridges and dentures which may be easier on your pocketbook. These are great options for many people and ones you may want to consider to more easily fit your budget.
So, if you are missing a tooth or several teeth and you’re worried about the cost, come talk to us at Wimmer Dental Care in Centennial. There are affordable tooth replacement options that you should consider and no reason why you should not have a beautiful smile and the ability to eat whatever you want. Come and see us and find out what will work best for you. We can explain everything, answer your questions and take care of every step of the process.
By the way, our office also caters to the needs of anxious patients! Dr. Matt Wimmer provides oral sedation and nitrous oxide to alleviate your anxiety. Our office staff is here to help you. We take most dental insurance plans. We know dental procedures can be expensive, so we accept Visa, MasterCard, and Discover credit cards. For patients needing help with financing, we accept patient financing through Care Credit.