A full set of healthy, strong, fully functional teeth are important for good quality of life and can be a big contributing factor to one’s confidence. The only problem is our teeth don’t last forever. Our teeth can require replacement for several reasons including accidents, health issues/ medications, poor dental hygiene and even just the normal aging process. Whatever the case, there’s no reason to worry as there are a number of tooth replacement options available.

REPLACEMENT OPTIONS
The replacement of missing teeth has evolved considerably in the past 20 years especially thanks to the development of dental implants.
Here at Manningham Dental Specialists, we offer three different treatment options for tooth replacement: a removable denture, a conventional bridge and an implant-retained crown.
The treatment option which is most suitable will be different for each person. There are varying factors that will need to be assessed to determine the best option such as remaining bones levels/ jawbone health, the condition of teeth around the missing tooth, if it’s one tooth or multiple teeth missing and of course what the patient wants. That’s why your first appointment with us will always be a consultation to assess your personal situation to help determine the best solution for you. That being said, let’s look at a quick overview of each replacement option to help you get an idea of which might be right for you.

DENTURES
Full dentures or partial dentures are a removeable oral plate of false teeth used to replace missing teeth. They are best used when you only need to replace a single tooth. However, dentures are a more dated option that are being used far less as a replacement option in modern dentistry. This is for many reasons, including that they are bulky, can often times be uncomfortable for patients to wear, and the development of permanent tooth replacement options has advanced so far. However, they are the cheapest option available for tooth replacement so may be the best option for a patient budgetary constraints.

BRIDGES
A dental bridge can be either a conventional bridge or a Maryland bridge.
A conventional bridge using the adjacent teeth to support the new artificial tooth. An advantage of conventional bridges is that when done properly they are long lasting, fully functional and look great aesthetically. However, one of their disadvantages is that the adjacent teeth must be trimmed and shaved to prepare them to support the bridge.
Maryland bridges on the other hand are less harmful to your remaining natural teeth as they don’t require as much preparation. Rather than shaving the adjacent teeth, a Maryland bridge uses a metal wing on the side of the false tooth which is bonded to the back of the adjacent teeth. Both conventional and Maryland bridges require adjacent teeth to be healthy enough to support the replacement tooth.

CROWNS
Dental crowns or dental implant procedure is a small surgical procedure where an implant is surgically placed jaw and once healed a crown is placed over top. This option requires the patient to have healthy gums and bone to prevent potential issues such as gum disease and to prevent bone loss. If you don’t have sufficient bone, you may be able to have a bone grafting procedure done.
There are many advantages that come with dental implants. Firstly, they are essentially the next best thing to healthy natural teeth, are the most comfortable replacement option and look amazing and are undetectable. It’s also the most convenient as it’s a permanent, long-term solution that can last for decades and they are easy to eat with.

OUR DIFFERENCE
Whether you have a single lost tooth, multiple teeth or an entire mouth needing replacement, we have an option available for you.
Manningham Dental Specialists have been serving our local community in Melbourne for 20 years. Our staff is comprised of a close-knit team of dental professionals with years of experience, education, and high levels of expertise in their respective fields of interest. One of our biggest priorities is making your dental care as comfortable and easy of an experience as possible.
Our state-of-the-art facility was designed to have complete dental care in mind, allowing us to cater for everything from general to specialist dental treatments all in the one place. With cutting edge equipment, we can cater to even the most difficult of dental procedures. We have intra- and panoramic digital x-rays available which reduce the amount of radiation you’re exposed to and a 3D scanner that can digitally designed your restorations before treatment begins.
To book a consultation appointment for tooth replacement, give our friendly reception team a call today.