Replacing Missing Teeth

At Windermere Dental Practice, we can recommend and support you in making your decision on the best method for replacing missing teeth.

Dental Implants

Dental implants can be used to replace a single tooth missing or to fill bigger gaps. Implants can be a very successful modern option for replacing missing teeth. Implants are titanium screws that are directly placed into the jawbone to replace a missing tooth root. They rely on the quality and quantity of bone available being good enough and need to be well looked after to make sure they last. We have a network of tried and tested, trusted local practices that we refer to for implant placement.

Dental Bridges

A fixed dental bridge is a non-removable way of replacing a small number of missing teeth. It fills the gap with one or more false teeth using the surrounding teeth as support. As the teeth on either side of the space need to be drilled, this is only a good option if these teeth already have large fillings or crowns currently as we prefer not to trim away healthy tooth.

There is also another type of bridge called a Maryland (or adhesive) bridge, this replaces a missing tooth with an artificial tooth with “wings” which are cemented to the back of the adjacent tooth or teeth. They require very little and in some cases no preparation to the natural teeth, however these can sometimes be less successful depending on factors like a strong bite and the length of the bridge. They are usually used for gaps towards the front of the mouth.

Dentures

Dentures are a removal appliance used to replace missing teeth. These can be made from either acrylic, flexible acrylic, or metal plates made to fit to your mouth with the missing teeth attached. They may be partial (replacing some teeth), or complete (replacing all teeth). Dentures are a good solution for replacing teeth and also providing support of lips and cheeks after tooth loss. They can also be used as a temporary stage in the dental implant process or the denture can be supported by dental implants also.