Solutions for Missing Teeth in Salt Lake City

Smile with confidence and eat like a kid again

If you have one or more teeth either missing or beyond repair you should consider dental implants to compliment your natural teeth and restore your smile.

Missing teeth can adversely affect your quality of life by making it hard to chew and by affecting your self-confidence. Dental implants increase your quality of life. They give you the ability to chew and smile confidently with lifelike teeth that look completely natural.

Dr. Scott Hamblin, one of Salt Lake’s top dentists, is a member of the International Team for Implantology and a Fellow of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists. Dr. Hamblin can provide you with complete dental implant treatment, from initial consultation through to permanent crown placement.

What is a dental implant?

Dental implants are a permanent solution for replacing missing or badly damaged teeth. An implant is a high-tech tooth replacement made from a biocompatible substance. It’s the closest thing to a natural tooth available in modern dentistry today.

The implant consists of a titanium post that functions as a tooth root, and a porcelain restoration that looks like a natural tooth.

Replacing a single missing tooth

A single missing tooth can be replaced with an ordinary bridge or a dental implant. Using a bridge, however, requires that Dr. Hamblin drills down two or more adjacent teeth to create space for the crowns of the bridge’s false teeth. The bridge might need to be replaced should the supporting teeth develop cavities or gum disease.

A dental implant single-tooth restoration avoids the need for Dr. Hamblin to alter adjacent teeth and also replaces the support that’s been lost due to the missing tooth. And, unlike conventional bridges, a missing tooth replaced with a dental implant will prevent the bone loss associated with missing teeth.

Most importantly, the embarrassing gap in your smile will be gone. And you’ll have a natural-looking tooth that will let you smile freely and aid you in ongoing good oral health, too.

Replacing multiple missing teeth

Multiple missing teeth can cause problems with function, appearance and teeth shifting. Replacing multiple missing teeth with multiple implants, implant-supported bridges or partial dentures provides function and aesthetics similar to natural teeth. The end result is that you’ll have a full, confident smile and be able to eat your favorite foods again!

 

Multiple Dental Implants

One method of replacing multiple missing teeth is to use dental implants to replace each tooth. For a few teeth this may be a good option, but for many missing teeth this may be too expensive. Implant-supported bridges or partial dentures may be a better alternative.

Implant-supported Bridges

Unlike dentures, bridges are permanently fixed in place and act very similar to your natural teeth. If you have missing teeth, an alternative to multiple single implants is a bridge supported by implants.

Using one or more implant-supported bridges to replace missing teeth keeps costs down and makes getting replacement teeth more affordable. If you have three to four missing teeth in a row, for example, Dr. Hamblin can create a bridge by placing two implants and using them to anchor that bridge.

Partial dentures
For those with missing teeth, gaps in your smile can be fixed with partial dentures. These can be secured with metal attachments anchored to your natural teeth.

Replacing all your teeth

The conventional way to replace a full set of missing teeth has been to use full dentures. But dentures tend to slip and move around. And they can be very uncomfortable and painful, making eating a difficult and unpleasant experience.

Dentures do not stop the problem of bone loss, either. That’s why long-time denture wearers often look older than they really are due to the loss of bone in their jaws.

Implant-supported Dentures

Implant-supported dentures are much more secure and comfortable than ordinary dentures, allowing you to keep a more natural chewing and biting capability. Implants also integrate with your jawbone just like natural tooth roots do, helping to keep the bone healthy and intact. So with implant-supported dentures some of your lost tooth roots are replaced and your bone is better preserved than with ordinary dentures.

New Teeth in One Day

Whether it’s one tooth or multiple teeth that are missing, with our modern technology Dr. Hamblin is able to extract teeth (as needed), place implants and a new tooth or teeth in the same day. Dr. Hamblin can replace teeth with an implant per tooth, or, for multiple teeth, with a combination of implants and dental bridges or dentures.

Dr. Hamblin offers his patients stable new teeth in one day using a comfortable and minimally invasive procedure. The all-on-four technique is a modern dentistry procedure that has become the preferred alternative to dentures, and allows patients to eat whatever they want!

Call Today to Schedule Your Free Consultation (801) ALL-SMILE (255-7645)