If you’re missing one or more teeth, you may not know that the gap in your smile can cause real oral health problems. Just one lost tooth can lead to bone loss, bite change and even more missing teeth later on. Fortunately, tooth replacement greatly helps to prevent these side effects. Hutchinson dental implants and fixed bridges are two leading options; continue reading to learn more about each today, from the team at Grant D. Ringler DDS!
Completing Hutchinson Smiles Since 1988
Dr. Ringler and his team have plenty of experience replacing teeth in our community, and things sure have improved since they started building Hutchinson’s beautiful smiles back in 1988 — especially with dental implants. In fact, they’re now the leading replacement option.
Hutchinson Dental Implants
The thing about dental implants is that they provide a more complete replacement than anything else available today. That’s because they replace the missing tooth as well as its root — something a fixed bridge, for example, just doesn’t do.
Dental implants are tiny posts made of titanium, and they’re surgically inserted directly into the space left by each missing tooth. After a recovery period of six months or so, the dental implants will fuse with the bone in a process known as osseointegration. Once they’ve become one solid unit, your dental implants are ready for the new tooth replacement to be secured on top.
Advantages of dental implants include:
- Increased oral health
- Prevent jawbone degeneration
- Restored ability to eat, speak and smile
- Dental implants are easy to care for and can last an entire lifetime
Fixed Bridges in Hutchinson
Unlike dental implants, fixed bridges replace only the visible portion of your missing tooth, or its crown. They fill the space left by one or more missing teeth using the two teeth that surround the gap as anchors. A crown is attached to each tooth, with the replacement teeth forming a literal bridge in between.
Dental bridges restore your ability to eat, speak and smile just like dental implants do — and the permanent solution can be a big upgrade from a removable partial denture. Tooth replacement also restores your face’s youthful shape.
When cared for properly, fixed dental bridges can be expected to last for 10 years, and sometimes longer.
Schedule Your Appointment Today
Are you ready to learn more about tooth replacement from Dr. Ringler? Our office is located in Hutchinson, and we invite patients from all over to come in and find out more about dental implants and fixed bridges — including Willowbrook, Medora, Buhler, Nickerson and beyond. Contact our office to get started on your smile completion in 2016!