The goals of prosthetic rehabilitation

Improving chewing function

People who have lost teeth or are missing a large number of teeth can have difficulty chewing their food thoroughly. This can lead to digestive issues, including indigestion, constipation, and bloating. It can also cause an individual to experience feelings of shame or embarrassment that they can’t chew their food properly.

Improving speech function

When missing teeth are replaced with prosthetics such as a dental bridge or denture, function and aesthetics will be improved. However, these restorations do not always restore full ability to speak or eat, so patients may need additional work to achieve full function.

Many patients choose to replace one or two missing teeth with a bridge, which is a single prosthetic restoration that spans the space between two teeth. A bridge is a fixed prosthetic that stays in the mouth, unlike dentures. When patients wear a bridge, they will not be able to remove their teeth for cleaning. As a result, patients will need to maintain their prosthetic by seeing their dentist regularly for dental checkups.

Improving aesthetics

Although comfort is the main reason that patients seek professional treatment, improvements in aesthetics are another key element of care. The appearance of your natural teeth, gum tissue, and smile all play a role in how others perceive you. Our skilled dentists can provide a variety of cosmetic treatments that will improve the aesthetics of your smile. These include:

Improving comfort

With implant-retained prosthetics, patients report greater comfort compared to traditional dentures. Patients can also feel confident about their smile, knowing that the teeth are not loose or shifting.

Improving self-esteem

Many patients with missing teeth report feeling self-conscious about their appearance. They may cover their mouths when speaking, limit social interactions, or decline professional opportunities to protect their smiles. Dental implants and implant supported dentures provide patients with new teeth that look, feel, and function like natural teeth.

Improving oral health

If a missing tooth is not restored, the surrounding teeth may begin to shift into the open space. This can cause problems with chewing and speaking, and the teeth that are shifting may make it difficult to clean between them.

A bridge can help prevent dental problems by restoring the teeth surrounding the missing tooth. This can help the bite to feel natural again and make it easier for the teeth to be cleaned.

Improving overall health

Good health requires more than just great oral hygiene. It’s essential that you practice good overall health habits to maintain peak wellness. This includes eating a balanced diet, getting enough exercise, and visiting your dentist regularly.

Improving overall quality of life

Imagine you’re unable to speak, eat, or smile. Your quality of life is severely diminished, and you often feel isolated.

After receiving several reconstructive surgeries, you regain the ability to eat and speak with confidence. Not only are you able to function more independently, but overall you feel better.

Function, aesthetics, comfort, and self-esteem

Prosthetic rehabilitation can dramatically improve your quality of life.

By replacing missing teeth with custom-designed crowns, bridges, and dentures, you can restore your smile’s function, as well as improve its aesthetics, comfort, and self-esteem.

For example:

A missing molar can create difficulties chewing, as well as create additional problems for adjacent teeth.

By replacing the missing tooth with a dental implant, bridge, or implant-supported crown, you can restore function and aesthetics, as well as improve comfort.