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Replacing multiple missing teeth - Dental Implants Net

There are three alternatives: treatment with dental implants , bridges, or Removable partial dentures.
Treatment with bridge may not be possible depending on the location of the missing tooth.

1. Dental Implants

A dental implant is an artificial tooth root made of titanium that is placed in the jawbone after tooth loss to allow an artificial tooth to be placed upon it. Implant treatment can provide a natural-looking replacement tooth without cutting the healthy neighboring teeth.

Advantages & Disadvantages

2. Bridge

A bridge is made up of two dental crowns for the teeth on either side of a missing tooth (and the artificial tooth in between.
Once the crowns are finished, the artificial tooth will be bonded to them.

Advantages & Disadvantages

3. Removable partial dentures

Removable partial dentures: RPDs possess metal or plastic clasps that "clip" onto the remaining teeth and the denture plate placed on the mucosa in the region of the missing teeth, keeping the RPDs in place.
RPDs can provide the comfortable replacement teeth due to their excellent stability, but they are esthetically inferior to implants.

Advantages & Disadvantages

Advantages & Disadvantages

Treatments	Advantages	Disadvantages
Dental Implants	There is no need to cut down healthy teeth. A natural appearance is provided. No insertion of a foreign substance into the mouth. Possible to chew well. Reduces likelihood of bone loss in the jaw.	More expensive than other treatments. A longer treatment period may be required than other treatments. Surgery is required.
Bridge	A fixed type restoration is very comfortable to wear. The treatment period is shorter than that of an implant. A natural-looking appearance can be provided.	It is necessary to cut down healthy teeth around the missing tooth. The heavy burden imposed on the adjacent teeth used to support the bridge may shorten the life of the teeth. Inadequate cleaning ability may lead to gum diseases and tooth decay. Bone in the area with the missing tooth is lost.
Removable partial dentures	There is no need to cut down healthy teeth. The treatment period is shorter than that for an implant restoration. The cost is lower than for an implant restoration.	A heavy burden is imposed on healthy teeth with metal clasps. The metal clasps are visible. They involve insertion of a foreign substance into the mouth. As the bottom of the denture floats in the mouth, there is concern about denture detachment. It may be difficult to talk. Bone loss in the jaw often cause wrinkles around the mouth.

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