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Before & After: Restoring Missing Teeth
Crown and Bridge Restorations
Traditional crown and bridge dentistry employs a variety of techniques to replace missing teeth. These procedures customarily require, to varying degrees, the reduction of natural tooth structure to prepare the adjacent teeth to support the bridge. In many cases, this approach is practical, convenient and cost efficient, especially when the supporting teeth require crowns as the restoration of choice.
The advent of dental implantology and its remarkable success rate offers alternative management of single or multiple missing natural teeth.
Single Tooth Implant
Implant-retained crowns and fixed bridges are similar to the crowns that may be used on natural teeth. In the case of a single missing anterior tooth, the implant may be indicated to avoid the unnecessary reduction of the adjacent teeth.
Complex Prosthodontics Utilizing Implants
This patient had only one natural maxillary (upper) tooth that was restorable and nine dental implants. Once the implants and abutments were stable, the patient’s treatment was handled essentially as if there were natural teeth to support the prosthesis. Crown and bridge dentistry (a single crown and fixed bridges) were secured with screws into the implants.
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Missing Tooth Before
Missing Tooth After
Fixed Dental Bridge
Dental Implants
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