PROSTHETICS

Loss of one or more teeth and the lack of recovery will, over time, inevitably lead to alteration in the remaining teeth. All the teeth in the mouth are an entire system and the change or the lack of even one of them affects all the others. For example, when we chew the food, the load of the teeth is distributed evenly and proportionally between all of them through the contacts they have between each other (the small areas where the teeth touch the adjacent ones and the chewing surfaces through which they contact the opposite teeth). When even one tooth in the mouth is missing, the adjacent ones are tilted to the empty place, striving to reach contact. Thus, over time, the distance between them becomes less and they are becoming more and more "settled" and there comes a moment in which even if you decide to restore the missing tooth with an implant, a traditional or adhesive bridge, there is no longer enough space for it. Leaning teeth assume the load in a way that further shakes them. Moreover, the opposite to the missing tooth grows (becomes higher) because there is no support against it. So, postponing treatment over time only complicates and makes it more expensive.

Also, teeth support facial muscles, including lips and cheeks. And when we lose one or more teeth in a certain area of the tooth arch, we naturally stop chewing on this side, resulting in a loss of tone in the chewing muscles. As a result, the cheek and the lips swallow or the mouth angle becomes loose, and it adds years to our appearance.

Restoring a missing tooth (teeth) can be done in the following ways: by making a bridge or by an implant. If you select a bridge, the teeth adjacent to the defective tooth are grinded, a dental imprint is taken and the bridge is made in a dental laboratory, and in shape and color the artificial teeth are the same with the other teeth. This is done at least a month after removing the tooth to give the bone and gum at this place enough time to recover completely. During the construction of the bridge, the grinded teeth are protected by temporary crowns or a bridge made in the clinic immediately after the dental imprint for the permanent bridge. Thus, at no point in the treatment, our patients are left with scraped or missing teeth outside the clinic. The bridge can be made of metal ceramic or zirconium and, once it is ready, sticks permanently to the mouth.

Apart from this, the tooth can be restored via an adhesive bridge or implant. These are more modern methods of restoring missing teeth because they do not engage the teeth adjacent to the defective one (especially in the implants), and in the case of the adhesive bridge small cavities are made in the teeth (as in the case of a tooth decay) and the bridge is made directly into the mouth by the dentist, in one visit. It can even be worked out right after removal of the tooth and serve as a temporary bridge for the healing process after extraction.

Another option in prosthetics is treatment with veneers and crowns. Crown treatment is resorted when a large part of the tooth tissues are lost due to a fracture (part of it is broken off), the tooth is worn down or a root treatment was performed. The purpose of crowning is to restore the tooth in shape and functionality, and last but not least its aesthetics. During the treatment, temporary crowns are placed again until the dentures are permanently attached to the patient for convenience.

All prosthetic restorations require no less care than natural teeth, which guarantees an optimal oral life of about 10 years.