Most adults have 32 teeth after all their permanent teeth have come in. And when properly cared for and barring unforeseen circumstances such as various medical conditions or dental trauma, those teeth should last for the rest of your lifetime. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But things do happen. In fact, according to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research<\/a>, adults between the ages of 20 to 64 years have an average of only 25.5 remaining teeth. Further, 2.2% of adults between the ages of 20 to 64 years have no remaining teeth. But you don\u2019t have to live with a missing tooth. Various tooth replacement options can restore your smile and help you regain your confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are various reasons that adults experience tooth loss. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Whatever the reason you might be missing one or more of your adult teeth, there can be negative repercussions to leaving that gap in your mouth. Your remaining teeth may shift in your mouth, impacting your bite and ability to speak or chew your food effectively. Further, an improper bite can lead to headaches, additional tooth loss, tooth sensitivity in the remaining teeth, muscle pain, and TMD (temporomandibular joint disorder). As such, we advise that patients that have experienced tooth loss speak to their dentist<\/a> about tooth replacement options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The best options available today are dental implants and bridges. But what are the advantages and disadvantages of both options? How will you know which option is best for you? The answer is sometimes a personal choice but is best made collaboratively between you and your dentist. In the meantime, here is what you should know about implants vs. bridges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dental implants are a restorative dentistry<\/a> procedure that replaces your missing tooth with what many consider a fake tooth. Dental implants are created from materials like titanium and zirconium that integrates with your bone to support a replacement crown, acting just like your natural tooth root. Many patients feel that implants are superior to bridges and dentures because they look and feel natural and function just like your natural tooth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A dental bridge is custom-made to fill the space where one or more of your teeth are missing. A fixed dental bridge<\/a> leverages an existing natural tooth or teeth to hold your bridge in place. Your dentist will use a special kind of cement to fix your bridge into place. A dentist can only later remove it, making bridges relatively stable and very similar to your natural teeth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dental implants and bridges are not your only options, however, and interim solutions are available if you are not ready. Space maintainers can help keep your teeth from shifting. Or you can try dentures, or perhaps get a bridge first until you are prepared to get a dental implant. The best option for your situation is often best made by you and your dentist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have missing teeth, now is the time to talk to your family dentistry team in Austin, TX, about tooth replacement options. Request an appointment<\/a> so that we can get to know you and your smile goals. Before you know it, you\u2019ll be on the path to an improved smile. We\u2019re here to help you and your whole family smile for life<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Most adults have 32 teeth after all their permanent teeth have come in. And when properly cared for and barring unforeseen circumstances such as various medical conditions or dental trauma, those teeth should last for the rest of your lifetime. But things do happen. In fact, according to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":3385,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[59,58],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/keepaustinsmiling.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3384"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/keepaustinsmiling.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/keepaustinsmiling.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keepaustinsmiling.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keepaustinsmiling.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3384"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/keepaustinsmiling.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3395,"href":"https:\/\/keepaustinsmiling.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3384\/revisions\/3395"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keepaustinsmiling.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3385"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/keepaustinsmiling.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keepaustinsmiling.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keepaustinsmiling.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Implants vs. bridges \u2014 which tooth replacement option is right for you?<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Implants <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Advantages of Dental Implants<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Disadvantages of Dental Implants <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Bridges <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Advantages of Dental Bridges<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Disadvantages of Dental Bridges<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Have more questions about dental implants vs. bridges? The team at Parmer Lane Dentistry can help.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n