My senior year of high school, I was involved in a triple head-on car collision where I was very lucky that a few stitches in my knee and a missing front bottom tooth were the only injuries I sustained. Having just recently finished with 4 years of braces and oral surgeries, I was in for more dental work. Here are some tips on the different options I learned about:

One option is a bridge, where the dentist will grind down the healthy teeth on either side of the space into cone shapes. Then he will make a permanent piece that consists of crowns for those "anchor teeth" and a full sized false tooth for the space. This is less expensive but has some problems. 1) You are grinding down perfectly good teeth on either side. 2) You can no longer floss in those spaces. 3) Over time, you will experience gum recession and loss. The #1 cause of tooth loss in old age is not flossing, which makes the gums recede, which makes the teeth loose and prone to falling out. Without the root of a tooth in that missing space, this will happen quickly. At age 17, I wanted a permanent option that wouldn't require more dental procedures by the time I was 40.

The option I chose was dental implants, which were new technology at the time, but are becoming more common. This procedure cost more money than a bridge and takes more time to complete, but will last a lifetime if done right and is WELL worth it. For the extra time and money spent upfront, it was worth it to me to never have to worry about it again once it was finished.

For the short term, my dentist made me a "flipper," or "partial." This looks like a traditional retainer with a fake tooth attached. It feels a little awkward and does not look totally natural, but it gets the job done to temporarily fill the space. The most troublesome part about the flipper was removing it to eat. You can imagine being at a party or restaurant with someone and needing to discreetly remove your tooth before eatingand making sure you don't lose, break it, or accidentally throw it out.

While I had the flipper, my oral surgeon started the first phase. For me, when my tooth had popped out, it took the root and some jawbone with it. So my surgeon used a material that is somewhat like sand with a thin membrane over top of it. After this material is packed into the jaw, it only takes about 1 month or so to "harden" into jawbone material and seamlessly blend with your own. During the same procedure he implanted what looks

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

---

Add your voice

Know something about An overview of options to replace missing teeth?
We want to hear your view. Write now!