The South Nassau Dental Arts offers several solutions to restore your smile and confidence.
Possible options include:
A removable partial denture is a very traditional and cost-effective solution that can fix missing teeth quickly and noninvasively.
A partial denture consists of an acrylic gum-colored base supporting natural-looking denture teeth. It is most likely strengthened with a cobalt chrome substructure. The denture is held in place with clasps that fit around existing teeth or by special attachments that clip into dental crowns fitted onto existing teeth.
A partial bridge can be a good solution for anyone who doesn’t wish to have lengthy dental treatment or may not be suitable for oral surgery.
We can design a partial denture that looks very natural and will fit reasonably comfortably. Sometimes it is possible to add extra teeth to a partial denture if more natural teeth fail and need extracting.
While there are several positives in choosing this solution, a partial denture isn’t perfect.
The clasps or special attachments that fit onto existing teeth can place these teeth under additional strain, and the clasps will most likely be visible in the mouth.
The biting strength of a partial denture is considerably lower compared with a fixed bridge or fixed implant bridge, so it may not be possible to eat some of your favorite foods comfortably. A more restrictive diet can affect overall nutrition, impacting overall health.
A fixed bridge can restore one or more missing teeth that were originally side-by-side, using the teeth adjacent to the gap for support.
These teeth are covered with dental crowns and are attached to replacement teeth. Each replacement tooth is called a pontic. Every pontic is carefully shaped to look like a real tooth, resting directly on the gum underneath.
Fixed bridges are popular, and it’s possible to replace multiple missing teeth with this solution.
The result is a strong, stable restoration that looks and feels natural, functioning just like real teeth. A fixed bridge is relatively quick to make, typically taking only a couple of weeks to complete.
It is permanently cemented onto your natural teeth, so it is held firmly in place.
Dr Russo and his staff are absolutely the best dentist in our area! Been a patient for the last 3 years and restored multiple missing teeth. Just great!
However, it does rely on the adjacent teeth being strong enough to support the bridge, and these teeth will come under additional strain.
Also, we need to remove a substantial part of these teeth, reshaping them so they can be covered with dental crowns successfully. Otherwise, the crowns would look and feel much too bulky and unnatural.
It is always undesirable to remove healthy tooth structure, and crowning teeth leave them more at risk of developing infection and decay in the future, especially as the bridge begins to age and potentially leak.
The adjacent teeth aren’t always strong enough to support a fixed bridge or may be missing entirely, in which case dental implants are an excellent solution.
A fixed implant bridge is self-supporting and can replace multiple missing teeth, including complete arches.
You don’t need to replace every single missing tooth with an implant. Instead, only a few implants are needed to support quite large bridges. The dental implants are inserted at optimal intervals to support the bridge, which is cemented or screwed onto the implants.
Dental implants are an increasingly popular solution because of their substantial benefits.
The implants are self-supporting, so there is no need to modify potentially healthy teeth. Instead, a fixed implant bridge will help support existing teeth, preventing them from shifting position and sharing the load when you bite and chew food.
An implant consists of a small post inserted surgically into the jawbone, and this post closely replicates a real tooth root which is advantageous.
The implant post provides a similar level of stimulation compared with a natural tooth root, ensuring the bone around it remains strong and healthy. Normally when you remove a tooth root, the bone that previously surrounded it gradually begins to resorb.
Dental implants are also a long-lasting option that, with the proper care, can remain problem-free for years or even for life, and treatment has a success rate of 95% or higher.
You need to have a reasonably strong and healthy jawbone to support dental implants successfully. Otherwise, if you have suffered jawbone loss, you may need a bone graft before the implants can be placed.
Most people are suitable for dental implants, but we screen every patient carefully for this treatment. Dental implants take longer to plan, fit, and restore than other procedures but are worth the additional effort.
Dr. Adam Shoukry, DDS, is a cosmetic dentist who strives to provide each of his patients with personalized care and educate them on the state of their dental health so that they can make informed decisions. Dr. Shoukry really enjoys his work and is committed to continued education, having attended several accredited courses in every aspect of dentistry.
Dr. Shoukry graduated from NYU College of Dentistry with a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree and then completed his general practice residency at Nassau University Medical Center. Being a member of the American Dental Association, the Academy of General Dentistry, and the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, Dr. Shoukry strives to provide comprehensive dental examinations, a full range of cosmetic treatments, and the best restorative oral health care available.