Missing Teeth????

Have you ever had an extraction? Have any of your teeth never erupted? Normally, i guess you would rather replace a front tooth than a back one.

Though front teeth contribute to the beauty of a smile, the back teeth play a far more vital role in your mouth.

• When back teeth on one side are lost, balance is lost while chewing. So more force is exerted on the side with all the teeth. These cannot be taken up and usually teeth of the other side also weaken.
• Further, when an imbalance exists, the temporomandibulojoint.. ( dont worry, put your hands just in front of your ears and open and close your jaw,.. u can feel it!!) TMJ in short has unequal forces on it too. This leads to headaches, muscle pain, neck pain and a host of other problems.
• The back teeth help to maintain the various other teeth in their positions. The loss of even one causes the other teeth to drift and tilt and generally cause a poor appearance.
• Because of the deranged positions of the teeth, often plaque accumulates between the teeth causes gum infection . All these eventually lead to mobility and loss of the adjacent teeth also.
• Moreover, we cant chew food properly without the back teeth . The front teeth cut up food. The back one grind.

Now comes the tricky part - How do u replace it????

Option number 1: Dental Implants.

Dental implants are basically titanium and titanium alloy screws that are placed in your jay. Over which a crown is screwed into place. Placing an implant will involve opening your gums and exposing the bone. This is usually a minor surgical procedure which is done with a local anaesthesia. The results are a tooth which is fixed to your jaws. This is the best option available though slightly pricier than the next option which is a fixed partial denture or a crown.

Option number 2: Fixed partial denture

Here, an artificial cap or crown also called a crown and bridge maybe used to replace the missing tooth taking support from the two teethon either side of it. The other two teeth need to be reduced to accomodate a crown. These crowns are connected to one another and then cemented to the tooth with a dental cement. The advantages are - no need to remove it everyday but the disadvantages are that the adjacent good teeth also have to be reduced a bit.

Option number 3 - Removable Partial Denture

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Contrary to popular misconception , these can also be used to replace just one or two teeth. When they are made by a good dentist, they can offer excellent chewing efficiency, are not heavy. There is no need to reduce other teeth or undergo any minor operations. They resemble natural teeth closely. The denture maybe worn in the morning and removed at night, much like spectacles and contact lenses.

And when you or your relatives have lost all your teeth??



You can either use a a removable partial denture that replaces all the teeth or you can use an implant supported denture. Here, about four implants are placed in each jaw, over which a regular denture is fixed.


Cheers. Now you have an option of keeping that smile beautiful. Keep smiling .. Healthy!!!