Missing tooth or a vacant seat in mouth

       Missing Tooth or A Vacant Seat In Mouth

         

                                                                                                                  By: - Dr. ANKIT YADAV

          Teeth are the vital part of the body their number is more as compared to other body parts. Every tooth has a different function, the front teeth are usually for the esthetic appearance and for cutting purposes. A perfect smile line boosts your appearance as well as your confidence. The posterior teeth are using for chewing action, it degrades the food particles into smaller parts that are easy for swallowing. Many a time we lose our teeth due to caries, trauma, periodontal infection, then we have 2 choices either we replace them with prosthesis or we don't. what if, we don't replace it? Living without teeth is a struggle. You are not able to eat different kinds of food items especially the hard ones. It affects your speech as well as the chewing motion and also causes slow shifting of the nearby tooth to the space caused by the extracted tooth.

The prosthesis used to replace the tooth: -

• Complete denture
• Dental Implant
• Tooth support Bridge
• Removal partial denture
• Dental Flipper

   1. Complete denture: -

                    The complete denture is used to replace all teeth from the oral cavity. These are mostly used by old age people who lose their teeth in the long-time interval. These are made up of acrylic and look esthetic in appearance. They need bone as well as soft tissue support to sit in your mouth.

Advantages: -

• Economical
• Easy to clean and handle
• Slow down the bone resorption process
• facial muscle fulness

contraindication: -

• allergic to acrylic material
• severe gag reflex
• severe bone resorption
• the patient does not desire the prosthesis

   2. Dental implant: -

                    It is used for the replacement of a single tooth or multiple teeth. It looks like and feels like the real tooth. It may be lifelong if, proper maintenance and care are followed. It is a lengthy process. The root is replaced by the metal screw and left until the surrounding area is healed properly after that the crown is fabricated on it. Bone density plays a major factor as well as the space for the prosthesis is available or compromised.

Advantage: -

• Provide a natural look as well as the efficiency
• One of the best options to replace a single tooth and multiple teeth
• The self-life of the prosthesis is long as compared to another prosthesis
• It is a permanent solution with no need for replacement or regular check-up if all the condition fulfills
• It does not involve the neighboring teeth, so the adjacent tooth remains intact

Contraindication: -

• Bone is resorbed
• Chronic Smokers' patient
• Immune compromised patients
• Diabetic patients
• Surgical process

   3. Tooth support bridge: -

                    These are used to replace a single tooth or multiple teeth in the oral cavity. They need support from the adjacent teeth. They are fixed in their position. The central tooth is replaced by taking the support from their adjacent teeth. The crown is also placed in the adjacent tooth. It can take support from the implant tooth also. A healthy tooth is needed on the adjacent side of the missing tooth.

Advantage: -

• Economical
• Natural teeth appearance
• Immunocompromised patients
• Diabetic patient
• Chronic smokers' patient

Contraindication: -

• Adjacent teeth are not healthy
• No support from both adjacent sides of the tooth
• If the number of missing teeth is more and the supporting teeth are less

   4. Removal partial denture: -

                   These are also used to replace the single missing teeth or the multiple teeth. They are clasped into their correct position which ensures that the false teeth are held in appropriate spots. They are made up of a metal framework with the attached acrylic plate. It is extended to the large area to get support both from soft tissue and hard tissue. They are removed self by the patient at the night or during cleaning.

Advantage: -

• Economical
• Easy to repair and replaced if necessary
• Additional teeth can also be added in the future directly to the plate
• The patient can self-remove and place the partial denture in the oral cavity

Disadvantage: -

• Not fixed in nature patient need to remove it regularly at night
• Unnecessary the bulk of plate near the natural teeth
• The metal claps are visible if they are in the esthetic zone

   5. Dental Flipper: -

                  The flippers are used to replace the single tooth or the multiple teeth. These are temporary partial dentures that are used for a small time to maintain the space of missing teeth. It is made up of acrylic only, clasp may or may not be involved with it.

Advantage: -

• Economical
• Easy to prepare and repair
• Looks natural
• Easy to wear
• Stabilization of the existing tooth

Disadvantages: -

• Durability is very less
• Chances of gum recession is high
• Potential allergy
• Discomfort

PROFESSIONAL ADVICE: -

• Oral hygiene maintenance is the primary goal to avoid future extraction of a tooth from the oral cavity
• Avoid deleterious habits to prolong the self-life of prosthesis
• Removable prosthesis avoids during bedtime to provide rest for the underlying tissue in that period
• Clean your prosthesis in the morning time with soapy water or toothbrush and toothpaste like we brush our teeth
• In the initial days, there is more salivation while using removal prosthesis, and takes few days to adapt to the prosthesis