‘Pav, I have multiple teeth missing. Can you help?’
Of course. The problems I described with having a tooth removed is compounded very quickly and dramatically. Collapse of facial features occurs faster and you start to limit your food choices and as such this has an impact on your nutrition and studies have shown if you lose a significant number of teeth it can shorten your lifespan by around 9 years compared to those who have enough teeth to chew with effectively.
If you have a number of teeth missing in a row, we may even be able to place fewer implants and a bridge. This ends up being easier to clean and maintain. You don’t always need one implant per missing tooth. In fact this can often cause problems as too many implants are much harder to clean. You can see in the animation below how implant bridges work.
As always, I understand you may be anxious about treatment. You’re not alone! My patients are always pleasantly surprised how straight forward the procedure normally is. If you’re still anxious, you can speak to me about sedation. It’s a way to make you totally relax. However long you’re in the chair it’ll feel like 10 minutes. This means you can have fixed teeth, bite into that apple or steak and avoid having a gap in your smile.
DENTAL IMPLANTS EXPLAINED
