Missing teeth can not only be an embarrassment, they can be physically harmful to your health.
Dentistry provides a solution with dentures, sets of artificial teeth made to fit into your gaps.
Tooth loss can occur due to any number of forces - decay, injury or disease.
A sports event could knock a tooth out.
Intense decay can reach into a tooth's root, rotting it from the inside out, until it dislodges.
Periodontal disease, or gum disease, also causes loss of teeth in some instances.
A missing tooth can cause facial sagging, jaw discomfort and increased decay in surrounding teeth.
Filling the gaps not only provides you with a beautiful smile through cosmetic dentistry, but increases your oral health through general dentistry.
For an entirely missing set of teeth, the appropriate tool is called "complete dentures".
" "Partial dentures," on the other hand, apply to just a few missing teeth.
Many dentists practice restorative dentistry.
Although dentures provide one option, depending upon your individual dental situation, bridges or implants may be preferable to filling the gaps in your smile.
Bridges secure a crown in the place of the gap by bonding it to the neighboring teeth, creating a sort of bridge to fill the space.
For an implant, your Austin area dentist actually embeds a titanium metal screw into your jawbone which acts as a root, later placing a crown on top to act as the new tooth.
Dentures can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars, depending upon how many teeth are missing, which dentist you use and which materials you choose.