Full dental restorations are necessary whenever a person is missing one or more teeth in the upper or lower arch.  Such missing teeth are a serious problem, indeed.  If the person does nothing tooth loss, he or she will eventually be facing severe complications with all of your remaining teeth.

It is for this reason that cosmetic dentists strongly urge people who have lost teeth to schedule a dental examination and discuss a variety of tooth replacement options with their dentist.  This needs to be done sooner, not later.   While the extent and the cost of all of these options does vary, nothing should ever make a person believe that he or she has no option at all.   Some form of full dental restoration can and should be pursued, and there financing options available as well for qualified dental patients.

The idea of delaying treatment is never a good course of action.  A persons remaining teeth require the presence of one another to stay in alignment.  Any gap in an upper or lower arch is going to negatively impact the teeth on both sides of the gap.  Additionally, the jawbone will begin to recede when one or more teeth are lost and there are no longer tooth roots present to stimulate the bone through chewing.  Speaking and eating will become very hard at this point as well.

The lips and cheeks will be affected next.  Without the support of teeth, they droop and become withdrawn, causing premature wrinkling.   

Depending on the individuals medical and financial situation, cosmetic dentists recommend choosing any of the following three options:

         A conventional full denture

         An overdenture

         Cosmetic Dental Implants

Conventional full dentures

When all of a persons teeth are missing or must be removed, a full dental restoration is still possible with a set of conventional dentures.  Conventional dentures can fit and function well at the start, but there will be long term problems with them if no other options are later explored..

This is due to the fact that with all the teeth missing in an arch the jawbone gradually shrinks.  This can be prevented by replacing lost teeth with dental implants and then using those implants to support dentures.   This might be out of the current price range of some, but it is something to seriously consider at some point in time. 

Another full dental restoration option is to use remaining teeth to help anchor a set of overdentures fill in the gaps. 

Overdentures

An overdenture looks much the same as a regular denture, but it is held in place by the existing teeth that surround it.  This allows an overdenture to be much more stable and to feel much more comfortable than regular dentures.  Also, because many natural teeth are left in place, recession of the jawbone is slowed significantly.

Porcelain Crowns and Implants

Implants are small titanium posts that are placed into the jawbone.  Dental implants are the best of all full dental restoration options because they work like tooth roots beneath the gum line and look just like natural teeth above the gum line. 

Dental implantation is costly and requires surgery, but it is well worth the investment for those who choose it.