Northridge Advanced Dentistry - (Blog) 5 Types of Dental Prosthesis Devices

The appearance of your smile serves beyond physical appeal. Tooth loss could directly affect your personal confidence, speech capabilities, and capacity to eat comfortably. Dental prostheses serve as a solution to missing teeth. A prosthesis is an artificial device that dental professionals customize for tooth replacement or repair of missing or damaged teeth. Prostheses are carefully engineered devices to restore mouth function, enhance speech and chewing ability, and maintain oral cavity health. This article covers five standard dental prosthetic solutions that offer different benefits. Learn these types to help you choose the best option for your oral health needs.

  1. Dental Crowns

Teeth are made up of enamel, the hardest substance in the human body, and serve as the outer protective layer of the teeth. Over time, the enamel can disintegrate due to damage, acidic food, or the natural aging process. This is where dental crowns come into play. These crowns restore both the function and appearance of your damaged teeth.

A dental crown is a customized cap covering the entire visible tooth area to replace its external surface. The restoration protects teeth from additional damage, strengthens their structure, and improves their appearance.

It takes about two visits to complete the process of having a dental crown fixed.

The dentist evaluates the affected tooth for health suitability during your first appointment to receive a crown. The dentist will carefully clean away damaged tooth material before reshaping the tooth structure to fit the upcoming crown properly. The preparatory work resembles creating a solid foundation, which acts as a perfect base for the crown. 

After tooth preparation, the process of taking an impression comes next because it requires accurate measurements of the damaged tooth and the neighboring teeth. The mold is a guide for creating a crown that matches the precise dimensions of your bite. A temporary crown protects the prepared tooth during the waiting period.

During the waiting period, dental technicians create your permanent crown while carefully matching its color and shape to your natural teeth. When you return to the dental office, the temporary crown is removed before the new crown receives secure bonding to your tooth. After some adjustments for comfort and alignment, your restored tooth becomes ready to operate as a natural tooth.

You have a variety of materials to choose from for your dental crowns, depending on your desires and your dentist’s recommendation.

Examples of top material choices are porcelain or ceramic crowns. These materials are loved by many because they mimic the natural tooth’s translucency and color. Also, metal crowns made from gold and other metal alloys provide exceptional durability, which makes them suitable for molars that experience heavy chewing pressure. Another option is the porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns that blend both metal structural strength and porcelain aesthetic appeal.

  1. Dental Bridges

The dental bridge procedure fills gaps in the teeth that result from missing one or multiple teeth. This prosthetic device restores the appearance of your smile and the correct position of your teeth in your mouth.

Dental bridges use pontics as artificial teeth that rest on abutments that include your natural teeth or dental implants positioned next to the space. The dental bridge requires precise abutment preparation for secure and comfortable installation. The artificial teeth, which serve as pontics, receive precise manufacturing to duplicate your natural tooth color along with their dimensions and form, thus creating a harmonious and attractive outcome.

The dental bridge treatment requires patients to attend multiple separate appointments. The dentist starts by trimming portions of abutment teeth to make space for the bridge installation. The dental professional uses impressions from your teeth to produce a personalized bridge that matches your specific mouth shape.

A temporary bridge will be installed to safeguard the exposed teeth during the manufacturing process of the permanent dental bridge. The dental professional fits the permanent bridge after it becomes ready before final adjustments for comfort and functionality lead to its permanent cementation.

Dental bridges provide advantages that extend further than tooth gap restoration. Your ability to chew and speak correctly functions properly, preserving your facial appearance and preventing tooth movement. The longevity of dental bridges depends on proper maintenance through regular brushing and flossing alongside dental check-ups, allowing them to remain in your mouth for several years while improving oral health and quality of life.

  1. Dentures

Dentures are customized prosthetic tools to substitute missing teeth, which help people who have lost their entire tooth structure.

The different types of dentures serve individual patient requirements. They include:

  • Complete dentures. Dentures become permanent fixtures when all teeth are missing because they create a complete set of teeth that fits securely on the gums. 
  • Partial dentures. These denture types fit patients who have preserved some of their original teeth. They occupy empty spaces between teeth to stop their movement and create balanced tooth positioning. 
  • Immediate dentures. The dental professional installs these dentures immediately after extraction to serve as a short-term solution while the gums recover and adapt. 
  • Implant-supported/snap-in dentures. The dentures attach to dental implants, which the dentist embeds in the jawbone to create a reliable and comfortable dental restoration. 
  • Flexible dentures. Flexible dentures consist of softer materials, which deliver comfort and ease for people who need a flexible solution.

The denture acquisition process starts with a detailed examination, leading to precise mouth impressions for customized fits. After fabrication, your dentist will confirm the proper alignment of your dentures with your bite while adjusting them for better comfort. The adjustment period before your mouth gets used to the appliance naturally occurs, but eating and speaking abilities will improve as you get more familiar with the device.

Proper maintenance of dentures remains essential to preserve their lifespan and protect your oral health. Proper cleaning methods help stop plaque accumulation, which protects the prosthetics from deterioration. When you remove dentures at night, your gums need rest while the underlying tissues stay healthy. Regular dentist visits are vital for assessing your denture fit and function to ensure their continued effective service.

  1. Dental Veneers

Dental veneers are thin, custom-made shells that dentists use to seal the visible areas of your teeth. These dental appliances improve teeth appearance by addressing issues like staining and chipped or misaligned teeth.

The main components used in veneers consist of porcelain and resin composite materials. The durability of porcelain veneers matches their ability to reflect light similarly to natural teeth, which creates an authentic tooth appearance. 

The main advantage of resin composite veneers is their ability to be applied during a single dental appointment because they need minimal enamel removal while showing lower stain resistance.

The procedure to get veneers demands several sequential steps. Your dentist must examine you thoroughly to determine whether veneers are appropriate. The assessment includes X-ray examinations and discussions with the patient about their intended results. The process starts with enamel reduction from the tooth surface, which prepares it for the veneer placement. 

Your dentist will take an impression of your teeth, which will be sent to the dental laboratory to produce your customized veneers. The dental technician bonds the veneers to your teeth through a unique adhesive before making any necessary adjustments for a flawless fit.

The process of getting veneers requires permanent removal of tooth enamel since it is an irreversible dental procedure. You should consult your dentist about the advantages and possible risks. Veneers have a 7- to 15-year lifespan when patients provide proper care, establishing them as a permanent solution for smile enhancement.

  1. Dental Implants

You will receive a dental implant that replaces the root of your natural tooth by using a small titanium post that you have placed into your jawbone. The implant merges with your bone through osseointegration to achieve stable placement like a natural tooth.

A dentist will first examine you through X-rays or CT scans to evaluate your jawbone state and select the best implant placement. The medical team explains how the implant surgery happens under strict control, giving you step-by-step healing directions after the procedure. During this essential time, your implant will merge with your jawbone as it heals during the months following surgery to create the base for your future tooth.

The abutment functions as an implant-to-crown connector while mounted onto the dental implant. The dental crown receives an individualized design to replicate your natural tooth color, shape, and texture, perfectly matching your existing teeth when integrated into your smile. After the secure bond of the crown, you will regain the smile's appearance and the ability to eat and speak confidently.

You acknowledge dental implants as a complete solution for oral health restoration since they both restore your missing tooth, support your jawbone structure, and protect your teeth alignment. 

You dedicate yourself to proper care protocols and scheduled dental visits since a long-lasting oral health investment through these measures will produce durable results. You accept dental implants as an artistic and scientific fusion that provides firm yet natural-looking restorations that improve your total life quality.

Benefits of a Dental Prosthesis Device

Your daily activities become limited when you lose teeth because you struggle with eating, speaking, and maintaining facial expressions. Dental prosthesis devices, such as implants, bridges, dentures, and veneers, restore functionality and appearance. The custom-fit dental restorations provide several health advantages to your oral and general well-being because they replace lost teeth.

Restoring Chewing and Speaking Abilities

A dental prosthesis immediately enables effective chewing and speaking abilities, among its main advantages. A deficit of teeth creates difficulties in food breakdown, which produces digestive problems and results in dietary restrictions. A suitable prosthetic solution allows you to maintain a balanced diet through comfortable and unrestricted eating.

Your ability to communicate depends on how your teeth are positioned. Your speech clarity suffers when you have gaps in your mouth because you will not pronounce words correctly. Dental prostheses replace empty spaces, enabling natural tongue and lip movements for better speech articulation.

Preserving Jawbone Density and Facial Structure

The jawbone diminishes in size because tooth loss creates an environment without stimulation. The gradual bone deterioration in your jaw will modify your facial structure, sinking your cheeks inward and making your face appear older than it is. Dental implants are artificial tooth roots that connect directly to your jawbone, stopping bone loss and stabilizing bone density. Bridges and dentures, other non-implant prostheses, provide support to facial muscles, helping maintain youthful facial characteristics.

Preventing Misalignment of Remaining Teeth

Your mouth develops a space after tooth loss that allows surrounding teeth to drift into the open area as time passes. The progressive tooth movement from a missing space leads to bite problems and misalignment, increasing your risk of tooth decay and gum disease. Getting a dental prosthesis for the missing tooth helps preserve both the correct spacing and alignment of teeth, which stops additional oral health problems from developing.

Enhancing Self-Esteem and Confidence

The appearance of missing teeth leads to social and professional self-consciousness. Dental prostheses create a complete smile appearance that gives you the self-assurance to laugh freely and speak easily in all social situations. A completely natural-looking set of teeth, which you can choose between dentures, bridges, and implants, will dramatically improve your self-esteem and quality of life.

Promoting Better Oral Health

Bacterial accumulation becomes more likely when you have gaps from missing teeth, leading to gum disease. These spaces between teeth become infected because of food debris and plaque buildup, which leads to additional tooth loss. Dental prostheses protect vulnerable areas by creating barriers that simplify maintaining good oral hygiene. Under proper care and regular dental check-ups, your prosthetic device will maintain a healthy mouth for years.

Find an Experienced Dentist Near Me

The appearance of your smile determines your confidence levels, overall health, and daily comfort. A high-quality dental prosthesis enables you to recover your eating abilities and speaking performance and achieve natural-looking results that restore confidence through smile improvement. Contemporary advancements in dental treatment guarantee that your replacement teeth will appear natural while providing lasting comfort and durability.

At Northridge Advanced Dentistry, we offer our patients expert and personalized dental care. Whether you need dental implants, veneers, bridges, or dentures, we develop individualized treatment plans for each patient for superior outcomes. Contact our dentists at 818-701-3010 to book an appointment to discuss your dental prosthetics needs.