Modern
prosthetics
One missing tooth, or several missing teeth, are not only a problem of aesthetics, but also many disadvantageous consequences.
Modern prosthetics
Dental prosthetics deals with the recreation of the correct conditions of the bite after the loss of natural teeth or in case of significant damage to these.
The removal of a tooth is the last resort, which, however, cannot always be avoided. If one is missing one tooth or several teeth, then the issue is not only one of aesthetics, but can have varying consequences, including:
- leaning of the teeth neighbouring the gap
- excess abrasion of natural teeth as a result of takeover of additional forces during biting – the more holes in the bite, the faster the problem will progress
- the loss of bone material, and in conjunction, a change in the shape of the gums, and, with time, also the features of the face,
- difficulties in pronunciation and digestion caused by incomplete chewing and limitations in the eating of specific meals,
- difficulties of the temporomandibular joint due to a lowering of the bite height at the location of the leaning teeth.
What kind of tooth prostheses are there?
Veneers
most commonly made of porcelain, they are mainly used for correcting aesthetic defects, such as: diastemas, discolourations, small mechanical flaws or improper position.
Crowns
these are pieces set on the patient’s natural teeth or on implants, which are there in place to reconstruct the missing part of the tooth. Due to the material they are made of, we discern among metal crowns (even gold crowns), full ceramic or zircon crowns.
Prosthetic bridges
used only in case of loss of several teeth beside each other. This kind of reconstruction is made up of crowns embedded on pillar teeth or implants surrounding the gap, and a truss, meaning, the teeth filling the empty space.
