Is a missing tooth disturbing your smile? No worries. Modern dentistry is there to help you with any of your problems. Dentistry is becoming miraculously advanced every day, providing you with the best solutions literally to any of your problems. Out of all, losing your natural teeth affects your whole life because teeth are essential for your looks and day-to-day activities like eating and speaking. Therefore, it's necessary to replace your missing teeth as soon as possible before it makes you uncomfortable. Fortunately, numerous tooth replacement options are available to replace your missing teeth, like conventional dentures, bridges, and implants. Let’s get to know about them from the least ideal to the most ideal option and from the least expensive to the most expensive tooth replacement option. Option 1: Do nothing, no replacement · If you have a missing tooth that is not bothering your cosmetic appearance · If you can’t even tell it’s missing, or you don’t even notice that it’s gone · When you don’t have an opposing tooth to chew with So, you might think of the option of doing nothing at all. However, this is not the best option since you will have boneless areas over time, and if there are any opposing teeth, they can drop down. Option 2: Partial denture or a flipper With conventional partial dentures and flippers, your dentist can replace multiple teeth with one appliance. Since they are removable appliances, they allow you to remove them whenever you want. Conventional dentures are less expensive and economical than other tooth replacement options. However, the downside is it may come out of your mouth at unexpected times. Dentures may lead to bone loss over time because they do not keep the bone level where it should be. Although the partial denture can help you to improve your looks and functions, flippers are only for your appearance. You need to remove both these appliances every night when you sleep, but partials and flippers will fill the gap during the day.

Option 3: Fixed bridge Fixed bridges used to be the best option to replace missing teeth before dental implants came along. Now it’s not always the best option. A bridge is simply three or more crowns that are fused together. It takes only two weeks for your dentist to provide you with a customized bridge. It doesn’t come in and out since it’s permanent. So, it really feels like your natural teeth are there. However, the only negative thing about the fixed bridge is that we must prepare two teeth on either side of the space. If something goes wrong in the future with one of these two teeth, you may now lose the whole bridge. If the two teeth are healthy, you are putting crowns on good teeth that otherwise didn’t need to be disturbed with drilling and crowns. Option 4: Dental implants In advanced dentistry, the ideal tooth replacement option will be dental implants. It’s a stand-alone crown that does not disturb any of your other natural teeth. An implant is a screw that goes directly into your jawbone, and after it heals, you get a crown that screws onto it. The screw itself is called the implant. The tooth portion you can see is called the implant crown, and the abutment is what holds the two together. Since it is a fixed tooth replacement option, implants will feel and function more like your natural teeth. Dental implants are the most durable, predictable, and best choice in replacing any missing teeth, even though it takes a long time to complete the procedure. First, the dental surgeon will place the implant, and it takes about three months to heal. Finally, you’ll get your restoration put on the implant. So, with the implants, you don’t have to sacrifice any adjacent good teeth to retain implants. Unfortunately, there are situations where your bone isn’t high enough for the implant to be placed. So, sometimes you can get a bone graft where your dentist adds a piece of cadaver bone to your jawbone, sutures it up, and makes you ready for a future implant.

How do you know whether you are eligible for implants? Make sure to provide a comprehensive, updated health history for your dentist to review. The dental surgeon will take a CT scan before placing an implant so that they can have a three-dimensional image of your jaw to check whether you have adequate quantity and quality of the jawbone to receive an implant. After the consultation with those two things, you will then be able to find out whether you are eligible or not. If you are not, it’s okay. Your dentist will determine the next best tooth replacement option for you. Another major drawback of dental implants is that it’s the most expensive tooth replacement option out of all. How much does it cost to replace one tooth? The cost to replace a missing tooth depends on multiple factors like the severity of the individual’s case and the type of tooth replacement option that is suitable for the patient. However, the total average cost to replace a single tooth includes consultation, x-rays, and the abutment and crown that will be placed on top of the implant. The cost of a fixed bridge mainly depends on the number of teeth to be replaced, and the average price differs per tooth. What happens if you don’t replace an extracted tooth? Tooth loss can cause several problems if they are not replaced as soon as possible. · The opposing tooth can gradually move towards the gap because there is no contact with the opposite tooth. This movement of the tooth can cause undesired contact with other teeth, which may cause damage to them, such as tooth decay, fractures, mobility, gum problems, and joint problems. · The teeth which are lying adjacent to the missing teeth from the front and the back will move to fill the empty spaces and try to occupy that space. This will cause improper positioning, bad tooth contacts and joint problems, difficulties with the maintenance of hygiene and all of the issues derived from it. · Since there are missing teeth on one side of the jaw, you will end up chewing your food only from the other side of your jaw, which will lead to an imbalance in the biting pressure. When the patient bites differently than in a normal position, it will lead to pain in the joints of your jaws. To avoid any of the above consequences, it’s essential to meet your dentist to decide on the best tooth replacement option for you as soon as you lose one of your teeth. No matter how advanced the dentistry is, no artificial tooth feels or functions the same as your natural teeth. So, always give as much care to save your teeth as you do for your body.